This way to the stars
by GodofContradiction
Summary: *Under Construction* The boy HAS no parents. And he's a real idiot. I should know he cleans my bathroom floor. AU.
1. This way to the stars

AN:

Darling readers,

TWTS is currently under construction. :) I will be diligently editing and correcting spelling, grammatical and formatting errors and hopefully, together with your unending support and love, I will be able to gain enough strength, courage and inspiration to once again pick up where I left off. It's been quite a long time and I fear most of you might have given up all hopes on me- and I will not blame you, nor do I wish to blame myself. Things have been rough. ;;

To those who have stumbled upon this for the first time, I welcome you. :D Please do not let my somber tone deter you from a long-ish journey. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end- it means the world to all authors.

Cheers and happy reading.

* * *

**This way to the Stars**

godofcontradiction

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my dreams. I pretend to own the stars, until someone else would claim them.

--

Wish

"She had to gather her wishes like coins.

She drowned them in a wishing well."

-Clairvaux

--

* * *

"Naruto! Get your lazy ass down here and help me move my stuff!"

Naruto tossed his blonde locks out of his eyes and scowled; quickly dropping the many boxes he was carrying. He had just been going up the winding staircase leading up to the attic, which was to be his room- and had not heard the girl calling for him the first time.

"I'm coming already!" he yelled, as the pink haired girl screeched for him to 'hurry up before I tell father!'.

He sighed, skipping down the last three steps and making his way down to the main floor. It was a beautiful morning, really. The sun was shining and birds were singing… a perfect day to cross country and lug heavy baggage's up the Victorian house they were currently moving into.

That's right. The Haruno's had strike gold winning a lottery (entirely by luck of course) and had quickly used the large sum to buy the large mansion that they had been eyeing all the way in Konoha.

Uzumaki Naruto had no choice but to move. Not that he loved his life back in the country- the neighbors despised him, his classmates stayed clear away from him, his teachers loathed him and basically ignored him. But he had lived there all his life, and he was not willing to be wrenched up from his lonely routine and into a foreign wonderland where everything would be alien to him.

But he had no choice. Sakura had threatened him thrice already not to ruin the trip, and he understood why. It was, after all, every country girl's dream to go the city. He really had no choice.

For as far as he can remember, Uzumaki Naruto had no parents. All he was told was that they died when he was three and had left him nothing but a will for the Haruno's to take him in. The Haruno's were his last living relatives, a branch family from his mother side. And so Sakura was his cousin- a distant one, but a cousin nonetheless.

The Haruno's weren't particularly pleased, but they took him in. They took care of his needs and made sure he stayed alive, but that was the end of it. Naruto was treated with very little liking, and he was forced to reside in the servant quarters rather than share a room with a very reluctant Sakura. Once he was old enough to hold a broom, he was given household chores to 'pay his keep' as the Haruno's put it, and it had been this way ever since. Naruto did not complain, but he was, for his part, thankful that they sent him to a decent school.

"What now?" Naruto tiredly said, pausing in front of an annoyed Sakura.

"Carry these to my room and BE CAREFUL. They're breakable. If I hear so much of a tinker you'll be out sleeping with the dogs." Sakura said this as if this was an ordinary thing to do.

"Whatever." Naruto grumbled, picking up the said boxes. He had to follow orders alright- but that didn't mean he had to like them.

"What was that?" Sakura glared at him.

"I said, yes, oh precious lady bug." Naruto inwardly smirked with satisfaction as Sakura turned red. 'Lady bug' had been a (hated) pet name for her by her overly zealous parents, and Naruto always used this to his advantage.

"Shut up, you monster and carry those up to my room. NOW." Sakura snapped.

Naruto wanted to roll his eyes. 'Monster' was a nickname as old and as hated as 'ladybug'. Mumbling about insects and disembodied creatures, he slowly climbed up the stairs feeling much better than he had before going down. Pissing Sakura off was probably the best form of relaxation ever.

Naruto put down the last of the boxes on the floor with a triumphant sigh. It wasn't that he had a lot of belongings to start with- but he had been carrying boxes in and out of the house all day, and he was ready to take a rest. Ripping the tape off the first box, he rummaged around for his favorite blanket and his small pillow and placed them neatly on the small bed by the window.

Naruto looked out the dusty panes and grinned, deciding that he liked the view. It was in no way as beautiful as the country of course, where you could see proud mountains and starry skies on cloudless nights; but it was beautiful in its own sense as well. He glanced up at the darkening sky and spotted the first star winking at him as if saying 'you caught me!'. Grinning back, he put his hands together and made a wish…

He was never one to believe in fairy tales, or wishing stars for that matter. But that night, he forgot everything he had built for himself and wished for the first time, like the child he forgot to be.

It would have been nice to tell you what Naruto had wished for that night… but then, it might not come true. He fell asleep with his hands still clasped as if in prayer. And if you think of it, maybe he was.

--

Please Review. It means the world to all authors.

Cheers.


	2. Steps

**--**

**Steps**

"The journey of a thousand miles,

begins with a single step."

-Confucius

**--**

* * *

"I give up on you, you useless child. Go bother someone else so I can finish my work."

Naruto winced as the cook tossed him the knife. He forced himself to catch it, nearly slicing off his fingers in the process. But Naruto caught it- he must. Quickly putting the deadly utensil back in its drawer, Naruto slipped out of the kitchen before the cook decided to throw something more hazardous at his way- particularly that butcher's knife.

He wanted to sigh. Tomorrow would be the start of the new school year, and Naruto wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting strange new faces and making a fool out of himself in front of said new faces. His face darkened as he remembered his first few days in his former school, where Sakura had made sure his life (and reputation) would be hell for the rest of his middle school life.

He paused for a while and listened intently for any signs of movement from the living room. He did not want to be caught by Sakura, or any of the Haruno's for that matter. His day had been spent scrubbing floors and he did not want to be sent on another one of Mrs. Haruno's endless errands. Deeming it safe, Naruto quickly scampered down the hallway and ran up the stairs leading to his room.

The house was beautiful really. It was a three-story building with white walls and winding staircases. The first floor was dedicated mostly to lavish decors and expensive antiques and furniture, no doubt to impress any impending visitors that may have happened to stop by. The second floor consisted of five rooms- the masters bedroom, Sakura's room, the room for Sakura's pet cat 'Princess', and two guestrooms. Figures that Sakura's cat would have a room all for itself. Naruto hated the snooty feline and resisted every temptation to kick it out of the widow. The third floor was unused- and where the attic was. Naruto was actually glad that he had the attic. Here, no one would disturb him. It was like a haven.

He opened the door and flopped down the bed, absently pulling off stray threads from his blanket. He had originally went down the kitchen for a little detergent to rid the small stain on his uniform, but did not know how to acquire it without the cook knowing. He had tried to help the beefy man with dinner to appease him and distract him, but had accidentally upended a colander of noodles and ended up pissing the man enough to spit at him and throw him out.

"It's not a big stain, and anyway, its not as if anyone would notice me anyway." Naruto said aloud, trying to convince himself. Nodding, he decided to give up on the detergent and readied himself for the following day. It was going to be hell, so he had to prepare to get burned by its flames.

* * *

The next morning found Naruto standing behind a daintily eating Sakura, ignoring his grumbling stomach and choosing his words carefully.

"Sakura…" he began.

Naruto shifted uneasily as green eyes looked at him sharply in distaste, as if talking to him would be something so unpleasant especially this early in the morning.

"Ano sa…" Naruto forced himself to smile. "I just wondered… how are you going to get to school?"

"I'm being dropped off, of course." Sakura said as a matter of factly. "And you're not coming with me."

"No surprise there." Naruto muttered.

"But…" Sakura tapped her cheek, a sly glint in her eye. "I JUST might reconsider… if you get down on your knees and beg for a ride. I mean, it's a looooong walk, Naruto."

"I'd rather kiss a newt." Naruto replied flatly.

"Of course you would." Sakura tossed her strawberry hair. "It's probably the only thing that could stand to be kissed by you."

"At least I'd be able to kiss something. You'd probably die an old hag without even experiencing one." Naruto shot back, just as easy.

Sakura's eyes flashed. "Why you little runt- I'm more kiss material than you'd ever be, ten times over. No one even likes you, much less look at you."

Naruto gritted his teeth.

'And that was your fault too, wasn't it?!' was what he wanted to scream back at her, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Sakura sniffed and put down her teacup, signaling for him to clean up breakfast. Naruto did so, stiffly, making more noise than necessary. He just wanted directions- directions dammit! He had no idea where Konoha High was, and he did not want to get lost in the city. But his fate was sealed as Sakura got up from the table and made her way outside to the shiny new sedan her father had bought along with the house.

Naruto miserably took the dishes to the sink and climbed up the stairs before the cook could consider making him wash them. Quickly putting on the white button up shirt and black pants that was the custom uniform of Konoha, he grabbed his satchel and the tie that hung from his chair. He wrinkled his nose at the green color- if it weren't part of the said uniform he'd never be caught dead wearing such an abomination. Sighing, he whizzed out of the house without so much of a goodbye. As if anyone would care anyway.

Naruto carefully kept track of his route, so if ever he failed to find the school, he could at least find his way back to the house. He looked around curiously at the many different colored buildings around him- their height was dizzying. He yelped as a whizzing car sped by him, nearly grazing him on the arm.

"Watch it, you crazy blockhead!" Naruto yelled, glaring at the car speeding away.

Muttering to himself, he rubbed at his arm. God, he hated the day already. This was going to be bad- really bad. He just knew it. He walked more cautiously now, glancing around here and there in hopes of spotting anyone donning the same uniform he wore. Gradually though, he realized that there was an odd, yet gratifying change in the atmosphere that he was used to.

The people here weren't glaring at him, or trying to trip him with their foot. There were no whisperings behind his back, and there were definitely no rude catcalls. In fact, Naruto braved approaching a middle aged woman and asked for directions, half expecting a slap or a dark glare, but was pleasantly surprised when she smiled kindly at him and pointed southwards.

It was crazy, he knew. But he felt a tingle of hope in his heart that maybe, just maybe, these people didn't hate him. At least, not yet. And they were treating him like one would treat a normal person. He, Naruto, was a normal person.

Soon enough, he saw someone wearing the Konoha uniform. Jumping at the opportunity, he ran to catch up with the boy and shyly tapped him on the shoulder. The boy turned, and Naruto was met with a pair of impossibly gray eyes, the color of pearls, looking at him expectantly, and a bit guardedly. Suddenly, Naruto was at loss for words.

"Uhm, excuse me… uh, d'you… I mean, do you know…. Er-" Naruto took a deep breath. "…Can you give me directions to Konoha High?"

The boy stared at him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion before turning a calculating eye at him. "Are you new?"

Naruto nodded his head, wondering at the guarded tone of his voice. Did he look dangerous or something?

"What's your name?"

Naruto frowned a bit at the direct question, but decided to reply. "Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. And you are?"

The boy looked a bit surprised at being asked, but his tone had lost its edge. "Hyuuga. Hyuuga Neji." The boy- Neji, looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for a reaction, but Naruto did not- could not, give one.

"Heya, Neji. Nice to meet you." Naruto decided to go with being friendly, seeing the boy had no intention to bully him. "So… how's about those directions?"

"You can walk with me if you like." Neji shrugged. "It's not far, anyway. Just a few more blocks."

Naruto grinned happily, clapping his hands together. "You mean it?!"

Neji raised an eyebrow and nodded, slightly amused. Naruto happily fell into pace with him, and started humming a tune. Someone was actually willing to walk with him, Naruto thought blissfully. If it was going to be like this, then he didn't mind moving to the city anymore.

"Hey Neji…" Naruto looked up at him.

"Hm?"

"What are you so scared of?"

Neji looked startled. "I'm sorry?"

"Scared." Naruto repeated, cocking his head curiously to the side. "Why do you look so scared?"

"I'm not scared." Neji indignantly said. Him? The Hyuuga genius? Scared?? "What made you think so, Uzumaki-kun?"

Naruto blinked at him. "Naruto's fine. I don't know… it's just… When I talked to you, you seemed so scared. As if, you were scared of being talked to." Naruto furrowed his brows. "Okay, so I'm not making sense… forget it." The blonde laughed, easily brushing it off.

Neji gazed at him, feeling a myriad of emotions swirling inside him. This boy… he saw. He easily broke past the barrier Neji had worked so hard to build. Was he scared? No, yes, maybe… he did not know. It was amazing. It was terrifying.

"What year are you, Naruto?" Neji softly asked, wanting to continue a conversation.

"I'm a freshman. Just moved here three days ago." Naruto replied, nearly tripping on a stub on the road. "I'm really, really not looking forward to class."

"First days tends to get one scared." Neji lightly said.

Naruto snorted. "I'm not scared!"

"Neither am I."

Naruto looked up at him (Neji WAS a head taller) and grinned. "You're real sharp guy, Neji. I like you."

Neji couldn't help the light laugh that bubbled up his throat. "Same to you, Uzumaki Naruto."

And he did. Neji honestly did like Naruto. The blonde was a refreshing change from the people around him, who selfishly befriended the Hyuuga because of his money or fame. Naruto did not even flinch when he revealed his clan's name. The Hyuuga's owned one of the richest companies in Japan, and the eighth richest in the whole world. Never mind that Neji was from a branch family- being a Hyuuga was still very, very tiresome. Especially if said Hyuuga was Neji, the genius of the Hyuuga clan.

Soon enough, they were nearing the looming buildings of Konoha, and Naruto's incessant chatter gradually came to a stop. He was paling now, and his steps were visibly getting smaller and sluggish. Neji patiently nudged him from behind, encouraging him to move.

"Come on, Naruto. It would only be denying the inevitable."

"I know, alright?" Naruto snapped, fighting back unpleasant memories. Oh god, oh god… whatever possessed him to think that moving to the city would be alright- scratch that, it wasn't all right. It's never been all right. And it's never going to be all right.

"Naruto, your class?" Neji patiently asked.

"Wha-? Class? Oh yeah… uh…." Naruto fished in his pocket for a slip of paper. "Class 1-D… room 208." He read.

"Room 208, huh? I'll drop you there." Neji casually offered.

"You will?" Naruto beamed, perking up a bit. "Thanks a bunch, Neji!"

Neji shrugged, but offered a small smile. The blonde's smile was contagious, its brightness rivaling the sun. Neji found himself wanting to please the blonde, just so he could see the warm smile once more.

"Ugh, why are they staring at us like that?" Naruto whined, drawing closer to the dark haired Hyuuga.

Neji ignored the many eyes that were curiously upon them and purposely strode forward, a reassuring hand on Naruto's back. "Come on, Naruto. We'll be late."

Naruto took one more uneasy glance at the staring people and obediently followed Neji. He tried hard to memorize the many (many) twists and turns of the large building as Neji led him through it with practiced ease. His butterflies returned with a nauseating kick and he almost asked the Hyuuga to slow down. Almost.

"Here we are." Neji announced, and Naruto felt himself become pale once again.

Grabbing onto Neji's sleeve, Naruto turned frightened blue eyes on him. Neji looked at him expectantly, and Naruto wanted to punch himself.

"Um…so… yeah, you're from another class huh?" Naruto mumbled, suddenly shy.

"I'm a sophomore." Neji gently informed him. "My room is on the third floor."

"Oh." Naruto reluctantly dropped his sleeve. "I see. Uh, t-thanks for dropping me off, Neji. It… really saved me a lot of trouble."

"You're welcome, Naruto." Neji said, and paused. "Don't be scared, alright? They don't bite."

Naruto flushed. "I'm not scared!"

Neji nodded mock seriously. "Yes, of course."

Naruto laughed, feeling a bit better. He beamed at Neji. "Thank you."

The dark haired boy nodded once again and bowed. "See you around, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto grinned and waved at the retreating Hyuuga's back, calling out a goodbye. As Neji disappeared around the corner, Naruto squared his shoulders and faced the door that serenely announced "1-D" in bold blue font. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door, saying a quick prayer as he stepped inside his new class, and undoubtedly, his new life.

--

Thank you to those who reviewed. They have my undying gratitude. Please do take time to tell me what you think. Your reviews mean the world to all authors. Sorry also for any typo's that you may have encountered. I'll try to fix it as soon as possible so let me know if there are any.

Cheers.


	3. Pick up where you left

--

**Pick up where you left.**

"There is a time and place for everything,

but there are also times when you have to

pick up where you left."

-amethyst

--

* * *

It was perhaps at this point that Naruto wished for a millionth time that Haruno Sakura wasn't in any means related to him. It was also this point wherein he cursed whatever deity that heard him for making them classmates. Cursed fate! Curses, curses!

He entered the class relatively unscathed and had settled silently at the very back of the class. He earned a few curious stares but pointedly ignored them and stared out the window. Most people got the point and carried on whatever they were doing, which thankfully gave Naruto a chance to observe the class undisturbed.

His insides froze when his eyes fell on a disturbingly familiar strawberry pink head. He audibly groaned. It was just his luck that he was in the same class with Sakura. Just… just peachy.

It seemed she had become an instant celebrity judging by the many girls swarming around her. He could just hear her high pitched laugh from where he sat, and it made his insides churn. His train of thoughts was disturbed by a shadow looming over his desk. Looking up, he met a grinning figure that was giving him a mock salute.

"Hey there, pretty boy. What's your name?"

Naruto openly stared as his mind processed three things. One, the boy just called him "pretty". Two, said boy had strange markings tattooed on his face. And three, he was grinning at him widely, so much so that a small sharp fang made itself known, just protruding from his lip, giving him a wolfish look. Naruto decided to act on the first thought.

"Who you calling pretty?!" Naruto snapped as he stood up, ignoring the fact that the boy was probably a foot taller and decidedly more bulky.

"Whoa, what's your problem?" The boy raised an amused brow. "I just asked for a name, yo."

"Well… well..." Naruto stammered, flaying his hands. He didn't know why he was getting so flustered! "What's YOUR name?" he said lamely.

The boy rolled his eyes and Naruto felt his cheeks turning red.

"I asked first you know." The fanged boy stuck his pinky inside his right ear and looked at him balefully. "Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?"

Naruto's stiffened, nearly dreading what was coming next. His eyes fell on the wicked sneer stretched across Sakura's otherwise pretty face, and felt his world collapse as she opened her mouth to strike.

"He doesn't HAVE any parents." Sakura said in malevolent glee. "…And he's a real idiot. I should know. He cleans my bathroom floor."

Naruto glared bitterly at Sakura who was casually brushing her nails on her uniform. She was doing it again... She was destroying his life all over again… The class had long since fallen silent and was staring back and forth between the two newcomers. The boy- the one who had been talking/taunting Naruto- was now looking uncomfortable at the sudden turn of events.

"I wouldn't bother talking to him, if I were you." Sakura nodded at the boy, as if doing him a big favor by telling him this. "He's not worth your time."

The tension in the classroom was now so thick, one could hardly breathe. Naruto felt like screaming. It wasn't fair- why did Sakura have to ruin everything again?! Naruto wished again, for the millionth and one time that Haruno Sakura was in no means his relative. His knees gave out, and, as he crumpled down his seat in crushed defeat and bitterness, Naruto also wished that he could just die that very moment.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, is it?" a lazy voice broke the silence as if snapping a tightly wound chord.

Naruto fought back the angry stinging in his eyes and dared look up to see who had spoken. A pony tailed guy, who for the world looked like he had just woken up from a nap, propped his head on one hand and turned lazy eyes on Sakura.

"I don't know who you are, woman, or what your relationship with this guy here is. But I think you owe him an apology."

Sakura gaped at the boy who dared speak to her like that. "And who are you?" she sourly said, disliking him immediately.

"That's not important." The boy waved an uncaring hand. "...Just apologize, and let's get this through. I'd like to go back to sleep sometime this millenium."

The class had forgone its former silence as they were now furiously whispering to each other. Shikamaru- the strange, self-proclaimed lazy genius, who never so bothered to even remember the names of people, was sticking up for the equally strange blonde newcomer. What an odd occurrence!

Sakura sniffed haughtily. She opened her mouth for a rude retort, paused, then deciding that the boy was not worth her time, turned her back to him and went back to chatting with her newly acquired lackeys- er, friends.

The boy's ponytail twitched in annoyance, and he sighed. "Troublesome."

Naruto stared at him with half concealed amazement and curiosity. The boy oozed of some unconscious confidence and his face was the picture of utter boredom. Naruto wondered how he pulled it off. He was jerked out of his thoughts once again as said boy turned to look back at him. Naruto quickly looked away.

The rest of the class lingered for a few minutes, not exactly processing what had occurred, before shrugging and breaking apart, figuring that the excitement was over. Naruto felt a tap on his shoulder, and he reluctantly looked up to meet the guilty expression of the tattooed guy.

"Hey..." he began, scratching his head sheepishly. "Uh, 'm sorry 'bout all that. Didn't mean to.. you know, cause a scene."

Naruto stared at him for a solid minute, before deciding to accept the apology. After all, only a fair few apologized to him- and so sincerely at that. "That's all right."

The boy smiled at him. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, by the way." He extended a hand. "You should be honored to meet me." He added with a conceited wink.

"I'm sure." Naruto slowly shook the offered hand, a small grin making its way to his face. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Kiba nodded at him.

"Hey, buddy."

* * *

Kiba was very talkative, as Naruto found out soon enough.

His chattering could very well rival Naruto's own incessant ramblings, and that earned Naruto's respect. The boy had plunked himself in front of Naruto's desk and engaged him in a conversation. Naruto learned all about Konoha high and its crazy lifestyle from Kiba that day, that would have taken him months to figure out on his own. Kiba was an endless reservoir of Konoha's latest news and hot rumors- not that Naruto was interested in those things, but the dog boy (as Naruto called him) had indulged him anyway.

Naruto also found out that the 'lazy guy' who had bravely (or not) defended him was called Nara Shikamaru, and that he never bothered to do anything but sleep, to look at the clouds and perhaps eat a bit. One wonders how he gets those top marks in class.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking..." Kiba tilted his head. "Why is that Sakura girl so mean to you? I mean, are you her ex or something?"

Naruto promptly choked. Him? Sakura's ex? He glared at Kiba disgustedly and made a face. "Ew." He complained. "Don't EVER say that again, or I'll personally see to it that you never have off springs."

Kiba snorted, deciding to ignore the threat. "Then what's the big deal?"

"It's nothing. She just hates me, that's all." Naruto lied.

"Then what's that about you cleaning her-"

"I said it was nothing." Naruto interrupted. "Do you know who our homeroom teacher is? What's he like?"

Kiba, noting the change of subject, quickly complied. "Yeah, his name is Kakashi-sensei. I heard a lot about him though- he's supposed to be this perverted git who reads this really raunchy book called 'Icha-icha paradise'. Brings it everywhere."

"Icha-icha paradise?" Naruto repeated, smirking at the tacitly chosen words. "No tact at all."

"Yeah... and then there's this Iruka-sensei who's supposedly his lover." Kiba nodded, leaning forward conspiratorially. "I dunno, rumors and all. But they're quite suspicious ya know? I've got this friend, see- caught them inside the broom closet making out once. Of course, that guy is just spoutin' full of bollocks, so you cant exactly trust the shit that comes outta his mouth-"

Kiba suddenly fell silent and Naruto was just about to ask what the matter was, when he felt a dark, almost eerie aura coming up behind him, making his hair stand up. A pale hand suddenly made itself known on Naruto's desk, and the blonde followed his eyes up to its owner. Naruto barely managed to keep in his yelp in surprise at the dark, murderous glare that was currently pointed straight at him.

"Move." A soft, dangerous voice threaded itself from the newcomer's mouth, sending a shiver of some sort down Naruto's spine. He was dangerous. Naruto could feel it. But that didn't mean he'd bend down easy.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded, a bit irked that his pleasant conversation with Kiba was interrupted.

The boy was pale, pale, pale- with red hair, the color of fresh blood falling slightly over is narrow emerald green eyes. Naruto quickly took note of the heavy black eyeliners and the tattoo 'love' on his forehead. Was tattoo a current fad or something? The said boy narrowed his eyes at him in distaste.

"This is my seat." He announced, quite shortly. "Move."

"I don't see your name on it." Naruto snapped, annoyed at the commanding tone.

Kiba nervously tugged on Naruto's sleeve. "Oi, Naruto... just drop it. Give Gaara his seat-"

"Who do you think you are anyway?" Naruto ignored Kiba and glared at the equally annoyed Gaara. "I got here first, so either you find another seat, or I beat the crap outta you."

The whole class (who at first pretended not to be listening) shook their head in dismay. The blonde just made a fatal mistake- no one stood up to Gaara. No one. And for good reasons too. The blonde just made the second interesting episode of the day, and class hadn't even started yet!

Gaara took on a strange glint in his eye and was about to open his mouth to say something (possibly a death threat), when the door opened with a loud bang and the infamous white haired pervert that was also known as Kakashi-sensei burst into the room with a wave and an almost inaudible "yo!".

Gaara's mouth shut with an audible click, as he glared at Naruto who was still glaring back at him defiantly. Shifting his eyes briefly to Kakashi, he scowled and slowly made his way over to the seat next to the blonde and stiffly sat down.

"I will get you for this." Gaara softly- dangerously said, his tone laced with dark promises of a very, very bloody death.

"I'm looking forward to it." Naruto snidely replied, giving the red head one last glare before turning to face a shock still Kiba.

"Oi, Kiba… what's the matter with you?"

Kiba was staring at him like he was the craziest person he knew, and at that point, Naruto probably WAS the craziest person he knew.

"Are you totally off your bonkers?" Kiba hoarsely whispered, his eyes nervously flickering over to the still glowering Gaara. "You just pissed Gaara off!"

"He had it coming." Naruto defended.

Kiba shook his head. "Bad move, Uzumaki. Bad move. He's gonna kill you."

Naruto, surprisingly, did not feel at all frightened at the way Kiba had paled. Gaara annoyed him. Period. And that was reason enough for him not to give a damn. And about the killing part… Well, Naruto had survived this long, hadn't he? He's made it this far. And no red haired, raccoon-eyed maniac was gonna end his sorry existence. At least, not if he could help it.

With that said, Naruto turned to face the teacher, who was currently calling roll with an almost bored tone as he flicked his eye non-existantly over each person. Despite all that fuss with Gaara, Naruto couldn't help feeling a bit happy. Sakura had not succeeded to ruin his life… yet. But that was improvement enough. Deciding to forget about the crazy pink haired girl he had for a cousin, he focused his attention to his teacher as his name was finally called out.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"HAI!!"

It was going to be a good day.


	4. By the way

--

**By the Way**

"By the way, I love you."

-amethyst

--

* * *

Naruto couldn't figure out for the world if Gaara was purposely trying to annoy him, or he was really just plain dumb. For one thing, the guy was just so STILL. No human could possibly stay still for so long and be normal! At least, not in Naruto's book.

The blonde shot perhaps the millionth annoyed glare at the red head and tapped a random beat on his desktop. It was math time... his worst subject per se. Not that he had any good subjects but Math is, in Naruto's point of view, particularly vicious and utterly pointless. Who needs x' and y's anyway? He'd rather much keep his sanity than screw up his alphabets, thank you very much.

"Psst!"

Naruto opened one lazy eye and spared Kiba a glance. First day together and Naruto already felt at ease with him. It was nice.

"What?"

Kiba nudged his bushy head towards upfront, grinning his uniquely toothy grin. Naruto followed his line of vision, pinpointing a blonde girl who had her hair up in a high ponytail. Naruto distastefully noted that she sat beside Sakura, and pursed his lips, wondering what Kiba called his attention for. His blue, blue eyes narrowed in slight suspicion, as he found nothing out of the ordinary. The flippy blonde was currently engaged in a flurried whisper with Sakura, and was giggling at something the pink haired girl said.

"What??" Naruto repeated the question, still failing to see what amused the tattooed boy.

"Cant you see??" Kiba, if possible, grinned wider.

"Why don't you stop grinning and tell me?" Naruto grumbled.

"Ino's skirt caught on her seat." Kiba whispered gleefully, pointing.

Naruto looked closer, and sure enough, the edges of Ino's plaited skirt was wedged firmly between the spaces of her chair, and Naruto had no doubt what would happen if she happened to stand up abruptly. Kiba was doubled up in fits of laughter, as the same thoughts obviously occurred in his mind.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto whispered, his brow furrowing.

Kiba stopped laughing long enough to give him an incredulous look.

"What do you mean 'what are we going to do'? It's not as if we could DO anything."

Naruto frowned. "But her skirt-"

"Don't even think about it, Uzumaki." Kiba snorted. "Women here don't appreciate our help. They'd just think that you were looking up her skirt or something."

"So, what, we're just gonna shut up and watch?"

"We shut up and watch." Kiba firmly nodded.

Naruto snorted, deciding to drop it, once again back to trying not to doze off in the middle of the lecture- never mind that he didn't understand a word the teacher said. It was, after all, the first day of school, and he'd be damned if he didn't start it right. Naruto stifled another yawn and started tapping his pen on the mahogany desk. A habit. Inevitably though, his eyes kept falling back to Ino's skirt, which was still clamped down firmly between the wedges. He shifted uncomfortably and tried to act nonchalant, ignoring the small voice in his head that was now taunting him.

"What do you think's gonna happen?" Naruto said absently, twirling his pen around fingers listlessly.

Kiba shrugged. "It'll rip of course. And we'll get a good laugh."

"That isn't exactly funny, is it?"

"Nah. But her face, now that would be funny." Kiba snickered.

Naruto stopped himself from rolling his eyes. But he sorta felt bad for that Ino girl already. Deciding a little friendly warning couldn't hurt anyone, Naruto ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and quickly scribbled a note in his messy script. Ignoring Kiba's raised eyebrow, Naruto took careful aim, flicked the crimped paper to the blond's direction and prayed she would receive it before the teacher caught sight of it. Now that wouldn't be good.

Ino blinked at the wadded paper for a few curious seconds before gingerly picking it up. She looked around suspiciously to see who had thrown it. Naruto firmly looked away, not really up to a staring contest. He silently urged the girl to read it so the whole ordeal would be through. Ino frowned, but opened the note to read its contents.

You know how in those movies where the girls get fitfully embarrassed, and their faces just crumple up in utter humiliation? Well, Ino's face certainly crumpled up- but Naruto found that it was one of distaste and if anything, she looked utterly revolted.

"Oh ewwww!! Yuck, yuck, yuck!! What a pervert!!"

The whole class fell silent and turned to stare at her. Kakashi blinked, closing his mouth in mid sentence.

"I'm sorry?"

Ino had the decency to blush a bit, but still maintained her indignant look. "Someone was being a pervert and staring up my skirt!!" she declared, her eyes glaring hatefully at the male population. "He threw this note at me!"

A few guys snickered, but kept silent while the girls looked around uneasily. Kakashi, who suddenly looked amused for some reason, politely asked to see the note. Naruto prayed in his seat that the teacher wouldn't recognize the handwriting to be his. Not that Naruto had passed any written reports recently...

Ino huffed indignantly but stood to give the note-- when suddenly there was a loud tearing sound that echoed through the small classroom.

Ino's eyes went impossibly large, and then she began to scream. She jumped around, trying to cover up the large slit that had appeared and exposed her pink underwear. Naruto took a second to be amused as he caught sight of a pig's face peeking out, grinning in all its porky glory.

The room at once erupted into laughter, the boys clutching their desks in a desperate attempt to stay erect in their seats. Kakashi tried his best to calm the hysterical girl, while painfully forcing back a grin. Hey, it WAS funny.

"All right, who wrote that note? WHO?!" Ino yelled, her face alarmingly red.

Kakashi tried make her sit down. "Calm down, miss-"

"You stay away!" Ino squealed, hiding her back from him. "Pervert!"

Kakashi obediently backed away, but this time allowing his grin to show through. She was stubborn- which was fine. He was having a lot of fun anyway.

"WHO DID IT? WHO WROTE THAT NOTE?!" Ino practically spitted fire.

"Who do you think it was?" Kiba hooted, slapping his hand on his table.

"It was you disgusting boys." Ino firmly said. "I know it. 'Fess up, or I'll-"

"You'll what? Throw a pom-pom at me?" Kiba snorted.

Some girls were now standing and backing Ino up, yelling at the boys to stop being so disgustingly immature. The male populace quickly rose up to the challenge and started doing an imitation of Ino squealing and ripping her skirt.

"Oh! Oh! I ripped my skirt! Oh no! My pink porky panty!!" Kiba mocked in a high-pitched squeal. "Oh no, the big bad boys did it! Someone do _something_!!"

Naruto couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. Ino face was an unhealthy purplish gray and it just fuelled the fire more. Kiba could be such a pain in the ass!

"QUIET!!"

Naruto swallowed back his laughter, as did the rest of the people. Sakura, who had been siding with Ino just a while back, had her hands on her hips, her green eyes surveying the now quiet class with a sly glint in her eye. She turned a sweet smile to Ino and touched her arm.

"Don't worry Ino-chan... I know what we can do about this."

Ino forgot to be angry for half a second, regarding her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Since it was those stupid boys who did this to you, they have to fix your skirt!" Sakura triumphantly grinned, pointing at an unsuspecting blonde. "Why don't you let the monster there do it? He's probably the one who threw you the note, anyway."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kiba protested before Naruto could open his mouth, glaring at Sakura. "What has he ever done to you anyway?"

The other boys loudly echoed their agreement.

"He's very good at it." Sakura shrugged, not really caring at the glare that was sent her way. "Which is probably the only thing he's worth."

Naruto gritted his teeth. He wanted nothing more than to stand up and land a well-deserved punch at the pink haired girl. But he didn't dare. If ever the Haruno's found out… he shuddered. No, he didn't dare...

"All right, fine. I'll fix the damn skirt." Naruto stiffly said, doing his best to avoid Sakura's eyes so he wouldn't see the gloating triumphant there. "But that's just 'cuz I'm really nice!"

"Dream on, loser." Sakura snorted, turning her back on him. "Saa, Ino-chan... problem solved!"

Naruto sighed dejectedly and slumped back to his seat. The class was now returning to normal again, as Sakura cajoled Ino into borrowing her jacket to cover the rip. Kiba was staring at Naruto in confusion, as did the rest of the class. If he didn't know better, he'd say that Naruto was scared of the pink haired bitch! Why didn't he fight back?!

Naruto felt Kiba's searching gaze, but chose not to meet them. Tiredly combing through his messy blonde locks, he slumped lower in his seat. It will always be Sakura's pleasure to make sure he remained miserable... he was used to it. But that didn't mean he liked it.

Often times, he felt himself giving in to the tremendous pressure- but he kept going. Naruto knew that was exactly Sakura was hoping for- his complete defeat and submission. Well, he wouldn't give her that. He'd rather bite his tongue and die.

"Oi."

Naruto glanced up tiredly to meet a pair of sharp green eyes. He stiffened.

"What do you want?" Naruto snapped at the red head, immediately on guard.

Gaara regarded him silently, his face betraying nothing of what he was thinking.

"I hate morons who manipulate other people for their own pleasure..." the red head stated, unflinching.

Naruto blinked, his mouth opening slightly. Okay, so that was unexpected. He fidgeted, not really knowing what to make of the silent boy's words. Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"...But I hate those who let themselves get manipulated even more."

Naruto's mouth snapped shut. He recoiled at his words, as if he had been slapped in the face. Gaara pointedly turned away, his jaws grimly set, as if gritting his teeth. Naruto let him.

The room was humming with the scattered whispers and murmurings of the distracted class. Kakashi had long since disappeared and no one seemed sure anymore at what was going on. Oh well. It was almost time for lunch anyway. No one really wanted to be doing anything anymore. Naruto silently gazed out of the window, blocking out the rest of the world. Gaara's words had struck, and it struck deep.

Minutes ticked on, and no one bothered to get up to try to find their missing sensei. Everything was suddenly so normal- as if the earlier fiasco never happened. It was that sudden abrupt feeling when something overwhelming had taken place that was permeating the class of 1-D. Not that it really mattered. Everyone just seemed so dazed.

Five minutes to lunch.

It was a matter of fact, of course, that everyone was hungry. Mindless chattering could only distract you so much after all.

It was getting increasingly boring. The guys were now talking about what kind of lunch they would like to have in just four minutes time, while the girls fussed over the latest teen magazine and exchanged mindless gossip. Who slept with who and what happened when. All that jazz.

Three minutes.

Ino was no officially calm, but was yet to speak of the earlier event. No one tried to bring it up. No one dared to.

Two minutes.

Kiba had fallen silent and was in deep thought- something that in normal circumstances should cause alarm. The blonde's strange behavior unsettled him, and he was confused. One minute he was insulting the most dangerous person in school (and probably all Japan shudder) Gaara, and then the next he shuts up in front of the pink-bitch Sakura! Kiba was never good in math, but this really didn't add up.

One minute.

There was nothing much left to say anymore really. Everyone was just waiting for the damn bell to ring. Come on, ring... ring... ring... ring... ring already... ring... ring-

"By the way, has anyone seen Uchiha??"

RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGG!


	5. Fly

AN:

I will again remind the readers that this is an AU fic, and although the characters of the anime are relatively unchanged, they might be slightly OOC to best fit the story line. But I'll try my best to stick them the way they are as much as possible. .

* * *

--

**Fly**

"He clipped her wings so she couldn't fly

And she couldn't escape while she watched him die.."

-Clairvaux

--

* * *

Konoha's soccer team had been the League Champions for five straight years. They were fast, they were vicious, and they were basically just _good._ And they also had a brilliant team captain by the name of Uchiha Sasuke.

Girls fell at his feet, while boys took off running in the opposite directions. You do not want to piss the Uchiha- that would almost be as bad as pissing off Gaara, who is, by the way, the prestigious soccer team's very able striker.

Uchiha Sasuke was perfection- so to speak. Always a straight-A student, always the best at everything, always the one to score the winning goal… If only he was a little bit more amiable. Sometimes, one felt like talking to a slab of cold stone when facing the Uchiha; But no matter... that was part of his charm too. The 'cool' exterior, as the girls would often squeal, was just 'irresistibly hot'.

A hanky, for that inevitable drool on your face.

To continue… As the captain of the said varsity team, Sasuke had certain responsibilities. And that included attending a certain League meeting that required all captains of all competing schools to attend. Incidentally, that day was also the start of class- not that Sasuke cared much. After all, his absence was perfectly excused.

"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!!"

Sasuke didn't bother to look up at the slightly breathless giggling- er, greeting, as a small form brushed by him. Tch- annoying girls. He brushed his dark hair away from his equally dark eyes as he calmly made his way up the second floor of the school building. His class was 1-D, room 208...there. He flicked his eyes lazily over the crooked sign declaring said section just to double check. The door slid open.

"OH! Sasuke-kun!!"

"Sasuke-kun is back!!"

"OHAYO, SASUKE-KUN!!"

Sasuke quickly schooled his face into a grim smile and swore silently to himself as he tried to make his way over to an empty seat all the way at the back. He had hoped for a silent entrance... Apparently though, this was too much to ask. He forced himself not to snap at the girl who boldly latched onto his arm. Calmly, he pried the snaking arm away. She pouted. He didn't care.

"How was your meeting, Sasuke-kun?" a girl- whose name he didn't know and didn't want to know- sweetly asked, fluttering her lashes in what he supposed was a cute gesture. It just made him grimace.

"It was fine."

"Did you meet any girls there?" another innocently asked.

Yet another girl, not to be undone, elbowed her away. "Are you starting training soon?"

"Did you have fun, Sasuke-kun?"

"Did you miss me, Sasuke-kun??"

Sasuke scowled. He opened his mouth to deliver a particularly harsh reply when there was a loud BAM of books hitting on the floor. Everyone turned at the loud sound and there, by the doorway, stood one flabbergasted Haruno Sakura. The girls murmured something along the lines of 'oh no' as they realized there was going to be another rival in their midst. Haruno Sakura had that decidedly prowess gleam in her eye, and it seemed Sasuke was the prey.

"Oh my gosh, you are HOT!" Sakura squealed, quickly pushing herself up to the stoic boy. "My name is Haruno Sakura, and I'm your new classmate!" she giggled, holding out a hand.

Sasuke gazed boredly at the offered hand. He did not even blink, absently thinking that everyone was a new classmate as far as first day of school was concerned. He hoped the annoying girl would leave him alone- but even his icy glare didn't seem to daunt her. If anything, she looked more dangerous.

"I've decided!" Sakura positively said. "It's you! It has to be you!"

"..."

Sakura clasped her hands in excitement and sighed dramatically. "You are prince charming! And I am, no doubt, the princess! And so you are going to be my boyfriend."

Sasuke's glare was ugly.

"What ARE you?" He flatly said, his temper rising. How dare she!

"It's decided then." Sakura giggled, ignoring Sasuke's dark look. "Oh, you are one lucky guy... Sa-su-ke!"

Sasuke snapped. He opened his mouth to bite back a scathing retort with every intention to make her cry, but was beaten to it by a loud, decidedly annoyed voice.

"Cut it out, Sakura-chan. Give the guy a break!"

And just like that, Naruto walked inside the classroom, an annoyed look etched on his small face. He had heard Sakura's ecstatic squeals all the way down the hall and pitied the poor unsuspecting guy. Sakura can be viciously persistent it was almost scary.

Ignoring the many stares he was receiving, Naruto shrugged off his backpack and pulled out Ino's now neatly mended skirt. He marched grimly towards the blonde girl and silently threw the skirt at her surprised face. He quickly turned around before he could hear a response.

On the other side of the room, Sasuke's dark eyes followed the blonde as Naruto calmly marched over to his previously claimed desk and sat down. He rummaged around his bag once again, this time fishing out a pen and a notebook. It was blue with a shiny cover. He opened it and started to write…

Sakura opened her mouth to throw a rebuke and Sasuke took the opportunity to determinedly step away from her. He made his way over to the blonde. Everyone watched in silent confusion as the Sasuke stood over the blonde's desk.

Naruto felt, more than saw, the shadow that fell on his desk as whoever decided to bother him stood before him, blocking the light. He sighed, snapping his notebook shut. He didn't want to deal with this... really, he didn't. Finally, he raised his eyes up to face the adversary. He was wholly unprepared though, for the black, stormy eyes that stared back at him with such fierce intensity.

Naruto's voice stuck in his throat, as whatever words he was about to say promptly died in him mouth. He couldn't help his wandering eyes as they landed on nicely tanned arms and athletic build. Naruto realized in dismay that, fuck, this guy was hot.

"What are you staring at?" He finally managed, gazing at the unfamiliar face.

The dark eyed boy kept his gaze firmly on him, which was starting to get really unnerving. Naruto cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably.

"Uh, hello?" The blonde unconsciously raised his hand to his face. "Is there dirt on my face or something?"

Sasuke did not answer him. Instead, he marched decidedly to the desk beside his, silently and gracefully taking it. Naruto was not pleased.

"Hey!" the blonde said. "I'm TALKING to you!"

Sasuke glared at him. "Shut up, dobe."

"What?!" Naruto stared at him, scandalized.

Okay, so a weird guy he never saw before, comes up to him, stares at him, ignores him, and now tells him to shut up. How weird was that? Even for his standards, it was ridiculously bizarre!

"You have serious issues, man." Naruto finally huffed, turning away.

He did not want to deal with this- not now. Not ever.

Sakura's lip curled in disdain as she watched the interaction. How dare the monster speak to her beloved prince charming?! Never mind that said Uchiha hadn't spoken a word to her.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pouted, opting for the cute image. She planted her hands firmly on Sasuke's desk. "Don't site beside HIM." She threw Naruto a glare. "You might catch idiot germs! Why don't you sit beside me? I can sit wherever you want to-"

"Go away."

Beside him, Naruto stifled a snigger. He quickly hid it behind his notebook.

"Sasuke-kun, listen to me." Sakura clasped her hands to her chest. "I don't think you understand but he-"

"I think it's you who doesn't understand." Sasuke interrupted, all patience evaporating. "I don't like repeating myself so I want you to listen carefully. GO AWAY. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

Sakura flinched as if stung, her eyes watering artificially. "B-but Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke was not moved.

"I don't ever remember giving you permission to call me by my name." He coldly said.

Sakura huffed, finally backing away. But she was far from giving up. Sasuke would be hers soon enough. He was just a little shy.

Yes, she nodded, satisfied. Sasuke-kun was just shy- but not for long. Cackling and scheming, Sakura gave a hearty 'I'll see you later, Sasuke-kun!' and bounced away, making sure to give Naruto a dark glare that swore vengeance later on. Naruto pretended not to have seen it. He was still busy hiding his grin lest Sakura came back and see it. That would be bad, especially since Naruto didn't think he could hold back a laugh anymore.

"Dobe..."

Scratch that thought. The laughter immediately disappeared, and was replaced by a small frown.

"Don't call me that." Naruto snapped. "It's not nice calling people names, bastard!"

The Uchiha had to roll his eyes. "You just contradicted yourself."

"Whatever." Naruto dismissed, waving a hand. He pointedly turned back to his notebook. Inevitably, it came again…

"Dobe..."

"I have a NAME!!" Naruto hotly said, his face coloring. Man, this guy was getting under his skin. "Na-ru-to! Uzumaki Naruto! And don't you forget it."

"Naruto." Sasuke tested the name as if it was some foreign word. Naruto blushed.

"Yeah! That's my name."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked.

Ooh! Naruto wanted so much to wipe that self-assured smirk right off that gorgeous face. His fingers twitched.

"You're still a dobe." Sasuke decidedly said.

Naruto glared at him. "Oh yeah? Well you're just a right bastard, aren't you? You think you're so great just cuz you're pretty-"

"You think I'm pretty?"

Naruto blushed an indignant red. "D-don't flatter yourself, teme!" He ignored the wide smirk. "Why are you sitting there anyway?! Don't you have anywhere else to be- like with your fan girls over there?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because your annoying!"

"Don't you want to sit beside a pretty person?" Sasuke slyly said.

Bastard.

"That seat's already taken." Naruto snapped.

Sasuke raised a brow. "By who?"

"By me."

Naruto jumped in surprise as a wonderfully silky voice from behind him replied. He recognized that voice... That same dangerous voice that reminded one of broken skulls and bloody parchment. Weird, but true. That silky, silky voice could only belong to one person...

Sasuke looked up to see who had spoken and immediately frowned as he recognized the blood red hair.

"Gaara."

"Captain." Gaara acknowledged, still not losing his edgy tone. "You are in my seat."

"I've realized." Sasuke replied.

A non-existent eyebrow twitched in slight annoyance. "Move."

"No."

"This is MY seat." Gaara gritted out, his annoyance escalating. "Move." The Uchiha may be his captain and he did respect him in some way... but then-

Sasuke calmly eyed him. "I don't see your name on it."

Gaara scowled heavily, not pleased to hear the same words all over again. (coughNarutocough) But this time... _this_ time he will not be so easy.

"I want my seat, captain." Gaara dangerously said, a warning underlying his tone. Sasuke met his challenging glare, refusing to back down.

"I think I rather like it here."

Staring contest. A really, dark, and scary staring contest. Both teams refused to back down, and it was really starting to get into Naruto's nerves. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Naruto snapped.

"Really, both of you!" he huffed, standing up with a loud scrape of his chair. "You are so stupid!"

Sasuke and Gaara stared as Naruto grabbed his bag, slinging it over one shoulder. "You can HAVE the seat, Gaara. Geez."

Naruto stomped over beside Kiba's seat and sat down, pointedly ignoring the two by engrossing himself with a book.

Gaara blinked, but slowly moved and took the now empty seat. His face schooled once more into its original stern gaze and looked out the window. He refused to say any more. Sasuke's brow furrowed, but did not open his mouth to speak. Awkward silence reined, disturbed once in a while by the flipping of pages and an occasional mutter from the blonde. For a while, there was peace.

The classroom door slammed open once again and Kiba came bounding in, announcing his presence with a loud cry.

"OHAYO!!"

A few people scrunched up their faces at the sheer decibel of his greeting. He grinned widely when he spotted Naruto.

"Oi, Naruto! What's kicking?"

"Shut up." Naruto glumly said, not really able to concentrate on his book. He realized with an embarrassed frown that he had been reading it upside down. Dammit.

"Uh huh. What's got your pants in a twist?" Kiba scratched his head. "And what are you doing sitting there- oh..."

He fell silent as he spotted the two silent (and intimidating) figures. When did the Uchiha get here??

"So... um..." Kiba shuffled his feet, looking back and forth the three silent boys. He looked adorably confused. "Did I miss something?"

Naruto groaned, slamming his book shut.

"Sit down, Kiba. And don't say a word. Not an effing word."


	6. Life

AN:

I think I'd slap myself first beforehand... There's so much to squeeze in between chapters that I've realized only a total of three days (in the story) had passed since this fic began... that's pretty slow, if you think about it. I apologize if this is moving in a snail pace, but I'm trying to straighten out a few things first before going gung ho into the plot. If you have anything to say about this, please do tell me... I'll hear you out.

Enough said... here's the next chapter...

* * *

--

**Life**

"I hope you know…

The greatest adventure ever told

is the story of our lives."

-cookie

--

* * *

Earlier that Morning...

Mornings were usually a good time of the day for Naruto. Not that getting up early was fun... It was just this time of the day when people were still drowsy enough to sufficiently ignore him, and therefore giving him some precious time to do what he pleased. He always grabbed this chance to write a bit on his journal.

_Kyuubi, _

_Yesterday was the first day of class. It could have been worse. Sakura hadn't ruined much for me yet, though I still wish she'd just shut up and disappear. There's this guy- Kiba, and he's really cool. He's the first one to actually talk to me, and I promised him I'll be there for his next big prank. I think it was to some guy named Shino... _

_But there's also this really annoying guy, Gaara. I mean, what's his problem? He thinks he owns the school or something. He wanted me to move seats- hah! As if. I get enough shit from Sakura as it is. I wont take any more than what I'm forced to. I sure showed him! But Kiba looked really scared somehow... Hm, I wonder what Gaara did to make him look so scared? Tch, it must have been his eyebrows. Geez, did he burn them or something? Or does he just like shaving them off? _

Naruto faintly heard Sakura calling out her goodbye, as the front door slammed close. He glanced at the clock and decided he should be going as well. He quickly scribbled in last few notes.

_Oh, and then there's Neji. He's really nice. I wonder if I'd see him again today?_

He quickly stuffed the shiny blue notebook into his bag and hurried out of his attic. Trying not to make too much noise, he scuttled towards the back door and let himself out.

Ah, what a nice warm day! Naruto took a deep breath and cracked a wide grin, tightening the grip on his bag. Look out world... here comes Uzumaki Naruto!

He walked down the busy streets, without needing to hide for once. It felt sooo good to just walk normally and freely... He always had to keep his head down before... especially when walking around crowded places. On lucky days, he only got verbal assaults. Those he could deal with. Sometimes though, he'd get a rotten fruit thrown his way and an occasional bad egg. Naruto winced. Those were like mini stink bombs since the stench clung to his clothes for the whole day.

Naruto had always wondered why the villagers hated him so much. It was no use asking the Haruno's since they hated him more than all the villagers put together. And besides, they'd just beat him up for asking such questions... In the end, Naruto never really found out why people scowled at him or frowned at him so hatefully. He supposed it was something his parents did... The lady Haruno said his mother was a prostitute who sold herself to disgusting people... He never believed her.

But why think of such depressing thoughts? Here, Naruto was unknown. Here, no one knew who he was, or too busy to even care. And that was relatively a good thing, right? Right.

"Oh no..."

Naruto scratched his head, blinking around the unfamiliar streets. Did he take a wrong turn somewhere? He could have sworn he saw that peach colored building twice already...

"Great. I'm lost?"

Naruto shook his head, quickly dismissing the thought. Uzumaki Naruto did not get lost! He sighed impatiently, shifting his book bag to another shoulder. Maybe this WAS the right street... Bugger.

"I wish for a north star." Naruto loudly said to himself, raising an eyebrow to the mockingly bright and cloudless sky. "So that it could guide me to where I need to be."

And he found one.

"NEJI!!"

The long haired boy raised his head, narrowing his eyes in search of the person who had called him. Naruto waved enthusiastically, grinning. He quickly went over to where the Hyuuga was about to cross the street.

"Naruto." Neji greeted, a small smile making its way to his pale face. "Good morning."

"Yeah, good morning." Naruto quickly hoisted up his bag. Damn strap kept falling off his shoulder... "Thanks again for dropping me off that day. How was your class?"

"Ordinary."

"Ordinary?" Naruto repeated, snorting a bit. "Oh come on, you can do better than that. Were the girls pretty? Did you have an annoying classmate that wont shut up? Were there any bastards there?" God knows there are plenty, Naruto added to himself.

Neji was amused. "Bastards huh? There are definitely a lot of them around."

"Right." Naruto agreed wholeheartedly. "Like in my class, there's this guy, he's a total ass. It wouldn't hurt to be a little more polite now, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't." Neji signaled for Naruto to follow him as they crossed the street together. Neji gently pulled the blonde by the hand as Naruto nearly crashed into the garbage can. He was animatedly waving his arms while stressing a point, focused too much on the Hyuuga to look at where he was going.

"...and he wanted me outta my seat!" Naruto continued, not noticing his near crash. "So I gave him a piece of my mind and told him flatly- hell no. Go find your own seat. So he did! And I-"

Naruto paused and blinked at Neji's amused grin. "What?"

The Hyuuga shook his head. "You amuse me."

"Of course I do." Naruto said in a-matter-of-factly.

This time Neji laughed. Naruto was pleased. Neji's face broke from his usual calm mask, his eyes crinkling faintly in mirth as his slow, hesitant smile took over to transform the beautiful porcelain face to life. He was beautiful. Naruto told him so.

"Am I?" Neji lightly said.

"Yeah, you're even prettier than any girl I know!" Naruto grinned. "Aww, is Neji blushing?!"

"I," Neji pointed serenely to himself. "...do not blush."

They rounded the corner, and entered a more familiar looking street. Naruto brightened when he saw the Ramen stand he land marked in his head. 'Ichiracku', the sign declared in bold, red block letters. Naruto planned to eat there in the near future. He'd bring Kiba and perhaps Neji too. He was excited at the prospect of eating out somewhere with friends.

"How about you?" Neji continued, glancing at the blonde. "How was your first day in class?"

"It was fine." Naruto shrugged. "No visual catastrophes." At least, not much.

"I'm glad."

The school soon came to view. Naruto eyed a poster proclaiming something he could not understand.

"Neji, what's that?" he pointed to several more of these posters stuck around the school walls.

"That's about the Club Fair." Neji explained, reminding himself again that Naruto was a transferee. "Let me explain to you- this school is particularly rigorous in its club activities and so choosing a club is a big and important ideal."

"Huh…" Naruto blinked, surprised. In his old school, only a few clubs were taken seriously- mostly, the sports club.

"Konoha High has a total of thirty clubs you can join." Neji continued. "Club Fair is a day allotted for students to sign up for their respective clubs. Each club is supposed to have some sort of exhibit, and usually, an audition."

"An audition?" Naruto's shoulder's drooped a bit. He had been so excited at the thought of joining a club, but auditions??

"It's usually nothing big." Neji shrugged. "Of course, it depends on what kind of club your joining. If it's a sports club, naturally, you have to try out. If it is drama, you have to show some acting skills to actually get to join... stuff like that."

"Oh." Naruto frowned. "What club are you in, Neji?"

Neji shrugged. "I don't need one."

"What? Why not??"

Neji smiled mysteriously. "I just don't."

Naruto pouted. "You're a spoil sport, that's what you are."

They entered the campus, and almost immediately, Naruto noticed the pairs of eyes glued to them once again.

"Neji..." Naruto tugged at the taller boy's sleeve. "Why are they staring at us?"

"Just ignore them, Naruto."

"It's because you're so pretty!" Naruto complained.

"Come on, I'll walk to your room."

Naruto took the offer and they went up the steps. As they neared the classroom, Naruto stifled a groan when he heard the familiar giddy squeals of Sakura. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Someone you know?"

"Sadly." Naruto sighed, scratching his head.

If Sakura's squeals were any implications, then Naruto guessed she had just found her newest victim- er, infatuation.

"Thanks, Neji." Naruto flashed the boy a grin. "I'll be seeing you."

"Always a pleasure, Naruto." Neji bowed his head.

Naruto waited until Neji's firm form disappeared around the corner before facing the door. Taking a deep breath, he walked in.

"Cut it out Sakura-chan, give the guy a break!"

* * *

RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!!

Ah, Lunch.

Naruto stretched loudly in his seat, working out a few cramps he had acquired along the way. It had been a long period... History was interesting but Naruto lost himself somewhere along the French Revolution. It's not as if he cared about who Napoleon screwed anyway.

"Oi, Naruto! Let's go grab some grub!" Kiba thumped him on the back, earning a mild glare from the blonde. Kiba ignored it.

"What are you getting?"

"Ramen." Naruto immediately replied.

"Ramen??" Kiba scratched his head. "What are you on about? You can't eat Ramen for lunch."

"Says who?" Naruto said, grabbing his bag and moving to stand up. Ramen for lunch seemed perfectly logical to him. They made their way down the busy hallway milling with students heading for the canteen.

"They don't even serve it here." Kiba pointed out.

"They don't?!" Naruto was aghast.

"Nope." Kiba grinned. "But they DO have meatloaf."

"I'll pass." Naruto muttered.

They entered the crowded hall and tried to find a seat. Naruto grimaced as he was shoved aside by a bulky jock who was making his way for the line.

"Watch it!" the blonde yelled.

"Maybe if you get outta the way!" the jock snarled back, not even stopping.

Naruto muttered under his breath. How is it that people in Konoha were such asses?!

"Hey, look, there's Shikamaru." Kiba pointed at the pony-tailed boy who was lazily waving at them. "Come on."

Naruto shrugged and followed him, taking a seat across the dozing boy. Kiba paused for a moment to say hi before dumping his bag onto an empty seat and promptly moving away to grab a lunch tray.

"So..." Shikamaru took a bite of his sandwich. "You're Naruto, right?"

The blonde nodded. "And you're Shikamaru."

The boy made a noncommittal sound. "That's me. You've got a lot of guts, kid- picking a fight with Gaara."

"He needs some good ass kicking." Naruto defended. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Maybe. But he's better off left alone."

Naruto snorted. Shikamaru ignored it. "You seem to have a knack in attracting big people. Gaara, then the Uchiha-" Naruto stifled a wince. "...and then there's the Hyuuga."

"Neji?"

Shikamaru spared him a glance. "So you're on first name basis now?"

Naruto looked confused. "What's wrong with Neji?" As far as he was concerned, Neji's name did not belong with the previously mentioned ones.

"Nothing's wrong." Shikamaru waved an impatient hand. "It's just unusual that's all. The Hyuuga never really stuck around much. Especially with people."

"Neji's a good guy!" Naruto was quick to defend him.

"I never said he wasn't." Shikamaru calmly took a sip from a bottle. "It's just that people are now talking about this blonde identity, who was seen walking with the SC president this morning. I figured it was you."

Naruto stared at him. "SC president?"

"You didn't know?"

"He's the Student Council PRESIDENT?!" Naruto said disbelievingly.

Shikamaru shrugged. Naruto was miffed. How come Neji didn't tell him that? Wait- was that why Neji didn't need a club?? Scratch that, was that why people were staring??

"Maybe." Shikamaru replied, and Naruto started. Did he say that out loud? "Like I said, Hyuuga isn't much of a people-person. He never really socialized."

"But Neji's so nice!" Naruto objected, not really believing they were talking about the same person. "And I made him laugh... He told me all about Club fair."

"He did that?" Shikamaru lightly said, polishing off his snack. "Well, that's nice."

Obviously, the blonde did not know much if he didn't realize what a feat it must have been to get the Hyuuga to laugh. Shikamaru decided it wasn't worth it to upset the blonde by insisting otherwise.

"You're an interesting guy, Naruto. Try not to be too troublesome."

Naruto grinned at him. "Maybe I'm too much for you to handle."

Shikamaru did not reply.

"Good day, friends!" a loud voice sounded from behind them, followed by a muffled hello. Both heads turned around, and Naruto had to raise an eyebrow as a boy with an unusual bowl shaped hair cut bounded over with an enthusiastic wave of the hand. He was followed by another boy who was busy munching over potato chips. Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement, gesturing for them to sit.

"And who are you?" the first boy- with the weird hair and equally weird, thick eyebrows, looked curiously at Naruto, while taking a seat beside him.

"He's a new guy." Shikamaru replied boredly, stuffing his empty plastic into a bag. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hello, Uzumaki-kun!" the boy enthusiastically shook his hand. "My name is Rock Lee... How are you doing?"

Naruto grinned. "Call me Naruto."

Lee nodded, pointing to the guy behind him. "This is Chouji... He's always eating."

Chouji took time to wave amiably, before stuffing his face again. Naruto laughed. Interesting people.

"I'm BACK!!" Kiba loudly said, plopping down his seat. "Oi, Lee! Chouji! When did you get here?"

"Just now." Lee replied. "So, Naruto, are you classmates with this deranged mutt?"

"Unfortunately yes." Naruto rolled his eyes good-naturedly, laughing at the dark glare Kiba threw him.

"Ho ho!" Lee laughed loudly. "It seems you and Kiba get along quite well! Do you like pranks, Naruto?"

"Of course!" Naruto grinned. "I promised Kiba I'd help him play a prank on Shino."

Kiba laughed along.

"I heard that."

Naruto rubbed his eyes. A dark haired boy wearing shades that was totally uncalled for indoor wear had suddenly appeared over the dog-boy's head. He did not look pleased.

Kiba's face cracked into a wide grin. "Shino! So glad you could join us! Naruto and I were just talking about this really good prank we were gonna do to you!"

Shino silently took a seat

"That's Aburame Shino." Lee grinned at Naruto. "He doesn't talk much. Kiba's been trying to get him to react to his pranks for years! So far, he's never succeeded."

"Don't give up, that's my motto." Kiba loudly said. "Right, Naruto?"

"Absolutely." Naruto nodded, his eyes taking on a challenged glint.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru offhandedly murmured.

"Everything's troublesome for you." Kiba pointed out.

Naruto laughed along with the others. This was good- no, this was wonderful. He was eating and laughing with friends... Naruto looked around the friendly bunch of faces and felt an overwhelming happiness. He had friends.

A tap on his shoulder made him look up to meet a pair of familiar gray eyes. Naruto's face brightened when he recognized who it was.

"Neji!"

He never noticed the silence that fell on the table.

"Hello, Naruto." The boy politely greeted.

"What are you doing here?"

Neji allowed a flicker of amusement cross his face. "It's lunch time."

Naruto playfully punched him on the arm. "I know that. Did you want something?"

Neji shook his head. "No, I just came by to say hello. You aren't very hard to spot."

"It's my super power charm." Naruto seriously said.

Neji smiled. Naruto laughed. No one dared to breathe.

"Here. This is for you." Neji offered him a cold can of soda. "My treat."

Naruto grinned, happily accepting the can. "Thanks!"

Neji nodded, checking his watch. "I have to go now. Have a nice lunch, Naruto."

"Yeah, you too."

Naruto waited till Neji disappeared into the sea of people before turning back to the stares he was receiving. He blinked.

"What?"

Kiba's mouth was hanging open. Shino reached out and thoughtfully closed it.

"Naruto... you know Hyuuga-san?" Lee scratched his head in bewilderment. He saw Hyuuga smile! SMILE!

"Yeah, Neji's a real nice guy." Naruto happily looked down at the soda in his hand. "I've never had Orange soda before."

"What?" Chouji paused in his eating, staring at Naruto in amazement. "Never?!"

Naruto shrugged. "Never." He was never granted the privilege back in his old school.

"That's a sin." Chouji muttered. "Come on then, drink up!"

Naruto obliged, opening the can with a slight pop, listening to the liquid fizz inside. He took an experimental sip and his face cracked into wondering delight. Chouji nodded in satisfaction when Naruto gave a delighted whoop, declaring it was delicious.

"Dude..." Kiba croaked. "What is WITH you? First you piss Gaara, then you manage to get Uchiha on your case, and now you get nice and peachy with HYUUGA!"

Naruto decided to ignore the pointed look Shikamaru was giving him.

"Gaara can go to hell while Sasuke can go screw himself." Naruto airly said, taking another sip from his can. "As for Neji... well, what about Neji??"

"It's just- he's- what- AUUUGHH!!"

"Very articulate."

"I saw Hyuuga SMILE!!" Lee dazedly said, absently snagging a fry off Kiba's plate. "He smiled..."

"It's a disturbing thought." Chouji agreed, also reaching out to grab a fry.

Kiba sharply tugged his plate away. My fries! Mine!

Naruto shrugged and took yet another sip. Orange Soda, he decided, was the best thing ever created by mankind. Well, next to ramen of course. Kiba and Chouji started arguing about French fries, while Lee managed to snag some more. Shikamaru made an annoyed sound when a fry landed on his head. He flicked it away.

"Troublesome."

Naruto was about to laugh at him when Kiba's plate overturned and ketchup splattered on his shirt. He closed his mouth, glaring at him.

"Kiba!"

Naruto joined the fight in a moment of confusion, as it soon turned into a full-fledged food war. Shino wisely stood up to move away as strawberry flavored gelatin started flying around.

Through this all, Naruto never noticed a dark pair of eyes glaring at him from afar.


	7. Heart

* * *

--

**Heart**

"People think that I must be a very strange person.

This is not correct.

I have the heart of a small boy.

It is in a glass jar on my desk."

-Stephen King

--

* * *

"I don't get it." Kiba thoughtlessly mutilated his chicken, not bothering to even glance at it as he stared at Naruto. "Why did he say that?"

The room was filled with the soft hissing and bubbling and occasional pots and pans clanging together.

"I don't know." Naruto irritably replied, aiming a particularly vicious chop to his own plucked, headless bird. "Am I supposed to?"

Don't get alarmed folks. It isn't what it sounds like. They were currently in cooking class- tastefully renamed 'Culinary Arts', and Naruto had just told Kiba all about his first encounter with the Uchiha. Now though, he wished he hadn't opened his mouth.

"And he just sat down? Just like that?" Kiba prodded, accidentally beheading a carrot sitting innocently by a corner. The boy wasn't paying any particular attention anymore, and was randomly swinging his knife down, uncaring at what he hit. Naruto warily inched his fingers away from the dancing, dangerous utensil.

"Yeah." Naruto edgily replied.

Kiba stared at him wondrously. "That is just way too freaky!"

"Watch it!" Naruto yelped, as the knife narrowly missed his hand. "Geez, mutt-boy! Are you purposely trying to give me bodily harm or something?"

"Sorry." He didn't look sorry.

The two had paired up for lab sessions... Naruto had first thought it was a brilliant partnering for his part, but he was now slowly starting to regret it. Kiba had no talent in the kitchen whatsoever. If his pitiful and now misshapen chicken was any hint at all, the boy had no idea what he was doing.

Naruto frowned. They were supposed to be doing a simple meal of chicken curry, since it was only the second week of class. Hardly complicated, but Kiba made the job almost impossible.

"No, wait-" Naruto panicked as Kiba started to dump the unpeeled potatoes into the boiling pot. "You need to peel them off first, baka- auggh!!"

Both boys jumped back as the potatoes splashed messily into the pot, sloshing hot curry (and then some) out and dripping to the floor. Kiba and Naruto stared at the mess.

"Uh..."

"What is going on here?!" the teacher elbowed her way to the two boys, her heels clicking noisily on the tiled floor. "Really now! I would have expected you two to at LEAST handle chicken curry!" she harrumphed, obviously not pleased. She was the batty kind of teacher who took her job almost obsessively. Cooking, as she said, was a subtle art- Naruto nearly laughed.

"It's not our fault!" Kiba protested.

"Yeah! The potatoes jumped out by themselves!" Naruto insisted.

She was not amused.

"You two are hopeless together." She said firmly. "Change of partners seems to be in order."

Naruto scowled. "Now wait just one minute-"

"Ah, yes." The teacher ignored him, her eye catching a worthy person. "Uchiha-san. You pair up with the blonde."

Naruto's face scrunched up in disbelief. "But that's unfair! I don't want to-"

"And you," the teacher pointed to Kiba. "...pair up with him." She gestured to Shikamaru, who was looking over them boredly.

Naruto stomped his foot, not pleased that he was being ignored. "I DON'T WANT TO BE UCHIHA'S PARTNER!!"

The teacher gave him a distasteful frown. "DO be quiet, child. Be glad I'm not failing you. Now finish up quickly."

She whisked away before Naruto could even protest. Kiba gave him an apologetic shrug and moved over to where Shikamaru was lazily stirring a pot. Bastard! Naruto cursed the boy.

"Dobe."

The blonde shut his eyes, willing himself to calm down. Counting one to ten usually helped whenever he was painfully provoked by Sakura... perhaps it would work now. He schooled his face into a grim smile and turned to face the Uchiha.

"Well, let's get going and finish this!"

Sasuke shrugged, dumping Kiba's chicken- or what was left of it, unceremoniously into the waste bin. "Do you even cook, dobe?"

Naruto decided not to reply, experimentally stirring at what was left in the pot. It would do. Just a few more ingredients, plus the chicken then they would probably be done. Naruto sighed.

"I'll get the mop."

Sasuke followed the blonde with his eyes as Naruto went over to the supply closet. True to his words, he pulled out the mop and started mopping at the mess he and Kiba had made. Sasuke noticed that the blonde was rather efficient at it.

"You're staring again." Naruto muttered.

Sasuke blinked. The blonde still refused to look at him, putting extraordinary concentration on his task.

"And if I am?" Sasuke lightly raised brow, efficiently peeling the skin off the potatoes. He worked neatly, precisely.

"Stop it." Naruto replied, scowling. He tossed his blonde locks out of his eyes. "It's getting really annoying."

Sasuke shrugged. "That's good."

The blonde felt his patience bristle again. Ooh! Bastard! Stupid, self-assured prick!! Naruto huffed and purposely jabbed his mop at the Uchiha's feet. Sasuke glared at him. Feeling just a tiny bit mollified, Naruto went back to return the mop.

"Cube them." Naruto absently instructed the silent boy, turning his attention to his chicken. He picked up his knife and started meticulously slicing through the rubbery flesh.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow but obliged, chopping the potatoes into the desired cubes. They were so precise, it was scary. For a few minutes, the two worked in silence- the sound of soft bubbling of curry and thunk of knife hitting on board permeating the air.

"Fifteen minutes!!" the teacher called out from the other side of the room. "You should all be done in fifteen minutes!"

Naruto cursed under his breath, quickly finishing off and dumping the chicken strips into the boiling pot. Sasuke silently followed with the potatoes. The blonde grabbed a few bottles of seasoning and shook in a dash of each. Sasuke took the liberty of stirring as Naruto added more spices.

The door to the CA room opened, and a murmur of foreign voices floated from the hallway beyond. The class looked up in curiosity as the door opened wider to let in a group of people dressed in important suits and ties that looked starkly out of place in the CA lab. They were led by none other than the Hyuuga himself.

"This is the Culinery Arts room." He was saying to the apparent leader of the strange group. "Students spend half of their curriculum on non-major subjects like the CA, where we aim to develop and hone non-academic talents. As you can see, CA is more of lab work…"

The Hyuuga nodded to the batty teacher who had come forward to greet them. Superintendents, he mouthed to the woman.

"...What you are see here now is class 1-D having a simple lab session."

The man in the suit nodded, looking interestedly around the room. Neji looked up and Naruto caught his eye, grinning and waving his knife in greeting. The boy smiled back. Naruto made a quick note to himself to berate Neji for not telling him about his position as the SC president. Students shuffled uncomfortably, trying to seem inconspicuous, while others nodded their heads politely in greeting. Neji asked the teacher if the group could look around.

"Certainly. Certainly! " She eagerly replied, graciously sweeping her hand. "I will personally show them around!"

"There is no need for that." Neji calmly said. "They are here merely to observe."

Naruto, like everyone else, kept their eyes glued to the curious observers who were now splitting up and wandering over to work tables, occasionally asking question or two to unsuspecting students. The blonde was too busy gawking at a particularly gaudy man with white spiky hair who was obviously making a pass at Ino, to notice Neji coming up behind him.

"Naruto?"

"Huh?" Naruto, startled, quickly turned around, slicing his fingers open in the process. "Ow!!"

Neji immediately looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Wha-?" Naruto dropped his knife, blinking at the red blossoming on his finger, mind a bit muddled for a bit. "Neji?"

Neji impatiently gestured at the blonde. "Naruto, your hand it's... bleeding…" He trailed off, his eyes fixing on the person behind the blonde.

Sasuke had taken the Naruto's hand into his own and slowly brought it up to his mouth. His dark eyes never left the Hyuuga's pale ones as he took in the bloody finger and sucked. Naruto blushed a deep red, as he yelped at the pressure applied.

"S-Sasuke!" Naruto squeaked. "Let go! That's disgusting!!"

Neji's eyes narrowed at the Uchiha. Sasuke stared challengingly back, not letting go of Naruto's finger. The blonde looked back and forth helplessly at the two boys who seemed to have gone into staring mode.

"Naruto..." Neji murmured, his eyes not leaving the Uchiha. "I think you need a band aid for that cut."

Naruto blushed. "Uh... right. Sasuke!" he hissed. "Let go of me!"

Sasuke pulled out the finger from his mouth, giving one last lick before finally letting go. Naruto yanked back his hand as if scalded by boiling water. What had brought that on?!

"Uchiha." Neji slowly began.

Sasuke levelly raised his chin, as if saying 'what now?'. His eyes, however, remained bored and unresponsive. Silence stretched for a few more minutes, which seemed more like an eternity for Naruto. He then decided that he did not want a part of this mess, so he scampered off to look for the precious band-aids. Uchiha was acting weird. Neji was acting strange. Weird plus Strange, is equals to None of my Business. Naruto nodded to himself. Basic math, he could very well do.

"Uchiha." Neji repeated, his eyes narrowing.

The Hyuuga raised a hand. Sasuke tensed. Was he going to strike? Neji pointed behind him.

"Your pot is overflowing."

Sasuke blinked, turning around. Sure enough, the curry pot was bubbling angrily as it spitted and whistled its protest. They had heated it for too long! Cursing under his breath, Sasuke quickly turned off the fire. He grabbed a potholder and opened the pot, frowning at the lumpy remainder of their curry. Well, at least it looked edible enough.

"Dammit." Sasuke muttered, throwing the potholder to the side. He turned around and found that the Hyuuga had disappeared. He grimaced.

"Hey, what happened?"

Naruto reappeared, a neat, blue, checkered band-aid wrapped around his finger. He crossed his arms and frowned at the still hissing pot. "Did you BURN our food??"

"You left the fire on too high, dobe!" Sasuke hissed.

Naruto scowled. "Oh right, that's just bloody brilliant teme! Now your blaming me?!"

"You were the one too distracted to pay attention to your work." Sasuke snapped.

"Me?!" Naruto yelled. "How about you? Having that stupid staring contest with Neji! Jeez, what WAS that anyway, putting my finger-" he blushed, sputtering. "...doing THAT!"

Sasuke snorted. "Oh very good, Usuratonkachi."

Naruto gaped. Usuratonkachi?!

"What's going on here?"

Both boys looked up to see the teacher standing by their workstation, her lips pursed in a tight frown. "Not fighting, are you boys?"

"It's his fault!" Naruto immediately pointed at the scowling Uchiha. "He burned our food!"

"I did not."

"Did too!"

"Usuratonkachi."

"Asshole!"

"Idiot."

"Bastard!"

"ENOUGH!!" The teacher rubbed her temples earnestly, as though she was sporting the world's biggest headache. "You," she pointed at Naruto. "It seems that change of partners do not work with you. Next time, you work alone."

Naruto glared at her. "Fine! It's not as if he's any help, anyway!"

She gave Naruto a curt smile and turned to Sasuke, the smile turning disgustingly saccharine. "Uchiha-san, I wont take any points off you, since I made you pair up with him. Go clean up now."

Sasuke barely nodded his head, as he picked up a random rag and started scrubbing the prep table. Naruto scowled heavily at the teacher's retreating back and stuck his tongue out. Gah- stupid, crazy teacher, having a crush on the Uchiha! He gritted his teeth and marched his way over to the ruined curry, dumping the content into the waste bin. He placed the pot into the sink with more force than necessary, wincing as he felt a dent form on the metal.

"Dobe-"

"Don't talk to me." Naruto snarled, turning the faucet on.

Sasuke gave an indignant snort. "I was just about to tell you to watch your finger. I'm sorry I even bothered."

Naruto silently ignored him, but noticeably took more care not to hit his finger. The cut was pretty deep... but the bleeding had thankfully stopped. Sighing to himself, he began to wash up. The blonde was too absorbed in his task that he didn't feel Sakura coming up to him, an irritated scowl on her face.

"Come here!" she hissed, grabbing him none too gently by the shirt and forcefully dragging him away.

"Hey!"

Naruto managed not to drop the plate he was washing, his soapy hands leaving watery trails on the linoleum. Sakura dragged them off to the storage room and threw him in, shutting the door behind her with a bang.

"What's the big idea?" Naruto demanded. His hands were still sudsy and oily- yuck!

"You," Sakura tersely said. "...stay AWAY from Sasuke-kun."

"What?!"

Apparently, she had seen everything.

"You heard me, you monster. I don't want you to EVER come near him again!" Sakura yelled at him, shaking him by the shoulders.

Naruto angrily shoved her hands away. "Don't you be telling me what to do! We're in school now, so I don't have to be at your every beck and call!"

"How dare you!" Sakura growled at him. "Sasuke-kun is MINE! You keep your filthy hand away from him, you sick queer! He's mine!"

"You can HAVE him!" Naruto growled back, his hands clenching into tight fists. "I can't STAND that bloody bastard any more than I can stand YOU. Now leave me out of your sick fantasies and you keep out of mine!"

"I'm telling father." Sakura threatened him, her face stretching into a sneer. "If you so much as even LOOK at him, I'm telling him you're messing with my property."

Naruto felt sick. Sakura was talking about the boy as if he were some object she could own. Sick, sick, sick.

"I'm not afraid of you, Sakura." Naruto muttered lowly. "And don't you ever believe that you have me around your little pinky. I'm NEVER going to bow down to you. I never had."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort but the blonde turned his back on her. Whatever words that came out of her mouth, he did not hear them. Naruto opened the door and walked out.

He never looked back.


	8. Angels

* * *

AN:

For the sake of formality-

Votes were officially counted on the 7th of January, 2005 and officially ended 14th of January, 2005. The result is as follows:

a) Sasuke x Naruto 115 Votes!

b) Gaara x Naruto 9 Votes!

c) Neji x Naruto 49 Votes!

And the winner is... **Sasuke x Naruto!!**

Congratulations to all those who voted this pair! And to those who didn't get their wished pairing- I'm really, really, really sorry! I'll try to do something for you guys just to make it up! I hate to make anyone feel bad... It breaks my heart. 

With that said- cookie here, returning full duty after a week of absence! (coughexamscough) Thank you darlings, for being so patient!

Cheers.

* * *

--

**Angels**

"I don't think you trust in my

self righteous suicide.

I cry.

When angels deserve to die."

-System of a down

* * *

--

English Class.

Poetry.

Naruto.

Those three did not match, not in any particular order. The blonde frowned at the myriad of words neatly printed on the smelly handout he was currently holding. It figured that they were tackling poetry first. Noooooooooo. He did not like poetry. No, wait, he liked it fine- Naruto considered himself pretty much a poetic person- but that did not mean he understood it.

"_How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. _

_I love thee to the depth and breadth and height_

_My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight_."

Naruto cringed, dropping his paper. What?! He glanced helplessly at Kiba who was also scratching his head.

"Everybody got their handouts?" Iruka-sensei pipped up from where he was standing up front. "All right, I want you to scan the poems written there, and try picking out your favorite."

Naruto groaned. He couldn't understand Shakespeare, or Wordsworth, OR Browning! Trying to keep as much of his sanity as possible, he decided to stick to the very first one. He continued reading.

"..._For the ends of Being and Ideal Grace._

_I love thee to the level of everyday's_

_Most quiet need, by sun and candle light._

_I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;_

_I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise._

_I love thee with the passion put to use_

_In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith._

_I love thee with a love I seem to lose_

_With my lost saints—I love thee with the breath,_

_Smiles, tears, of all my life! —and, if God choose,_

_I shall but love thee better after death._"

-Elizabeth Barett Browning

Naruto took a deep breath. Okay, so basically, the girl loves the guy... and counts the many ways she could love him. Sure. No problem.

"What the fuck?"

The blonde heard Kiba mutter. Naruto sniggered. Apparently, Kiba didn't understand Shakespeare either.

"Try understanding what the poet is trying to tell you." Iruka continued, smiling at the sea of scrunched up faces. "It could be about love... whether unrequited or returned. It could be about hate... revenge... anger... It's up to you to interpret it."

Kiba mumbled. "So this guy writes about a captain dropping dead...? That is so fucked up."

Naruto burst out laughing. Iruka heard him.

"What's so funny, Naruto?" he smiled in a friendly manner. "Care to share?"

Naruto shook his head. "Naw, just Kiba said something funny..."

"I see." Iruka paused, looking thoughtful. "All right then, why not? Naruto, have you got your favorite pick yet?"

The blonde narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Uh... I guess so."

"Wonderful." Iruka clapped his hand. "Why don't you come up to read it to the class?"

"What?!" Naruto stood up, his chair crashing to the floor behind him. "NO! I mean- no thank you, Iruka-sensei!"

"Come on, Naruto, don't be shy." Iruka cajoled. "Just come up here and read to the class what you picked."

Naruto firmly shook his head, picking up his seat and dropping huffily into it. "No way."

"Why not?"

"I don't read poetry." Naruto declared, as if it was an everyday fact.

"That's why you're here." Iruka rolled his eyes. "Come on Naruto, we don't have all day."

The class watched on curiously as Naruto reluctantly stood up, his eyes pleading for somebody- anybody! to help him. Kiba jabbed at his handout. "What did you pick anyway??" he hissed.

"A really crappy one!" Naruto hissed back.

"Naruto?" Iruka raised a brow. "Were waiting."

The blonde dragged himself onto the front. Kiba had pressed his copy of the handout into the blonde's hands as he passed, hissing a quick "Here, read this one- and be dramatic!"

Naruto quickly scanned Kiba's poem, his stomach clenching as he read the words. Kiba... He was going to kill him.

"Okay, try to put some feelings into it." Iruka nodded encouragingly. "Feel the poem. Read it as though you are the one saying the lines. As if you were pouring your heart out to us."

Naruto scowled at him. "I don't make it a habit to pour out my heart to people."

Iruka happily ignored him. "Let 'er rip, then."

The blonde flicked his eyes towards the back where Kiba gave him a thumbs up sign. Naruto fought the urge to stick his tongue at him. Unwillingly, his eyes fell on Sasuke, who chose that moment to look up from his own paper. Naruto quickly looked away at the smirk that was playing on the boys lips. Grr.

"_O Captain. My captain. Our fearful trip is done_." Naruto began, his lips barely moving as he read the poem off the paper.

"_...The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;_

_The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting._

_While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring_-"

"Naruto..."

Naruto stopped reading. "Yeah?"

Iruka held up his index and thumb squeezed together.

"Try to put just a liiiiittle bit of feelings in it, alright?"

Naruto glowered. "How?"

"Well..." Iruka scratched his head. "All right, first off, what do you think the poem is about?"

Naruto glanced ruefully down his paper. "About a captain who dropped dead."

The class laughed.

"Yes, and what about this captain?" Iruka encouraged.

"I don't know." Naruto shrugged. "It sounds to me as if he had some sort of heart attack or something. There's this line here... wait... ah, here it is."

Naruto started reading again.

"_...But O heart! Heart! Heart!_

_O the bleeding drops of red,_

_Where on the deck my Captain lies,_

_Fallen cold and dead._"

Naruto looked up at Iruka, grinning.

"...See? Heart failure probably. Or maybe he was stabbed at the heart?"

The class erupted into more laughter. Kiba had fallen clean off his desk, shaking with mirth. Iruka put on a pained smile.

"That's a good way to think, Naruto- but try going deeper into the lines. Don't take the words literally."

Naruto shrugged.

"'kay." He glanced back down his paper and opened his mouth to continue.

"_O captain! My Captain! Rise up and hear the bells;_

_Rise up- for you the flag is flung_-" Naruto paused.

"Isn't that wrong grammar?"

The girls giggled. Naruto grinned widely. They couldn't figure out if the blonde was being coy, or he was just plain stupid. At the very least, he was amusing. Iruka sighed.

"Just keep reading, Naruto."

"Oh fine... where was I? Oh yeah..." Naruto cleared his throat.

"-_for you the bugle trills;_

_For you a bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths_

_-for you the shores a-crowding;_

_For you they call, the swaying mass,_

_Their eager faces burning_-

…I mean, turning!" Naruto quickly corrected himself.

"_Here captain! Dear father!_

_This arm beneath your head;_

_It is some dream that on the desk_

_You've fallen cold and dead.._"

Iruka looked up when the blonde did not continue. Why did he stop?

"Naruto? What's the matter?"

"Can I stop now?"

Iruka blinked. "Was the poem finished?"

Naruto shrugged. "No."

Iruka tapped his chin. "I suppose that's fine. Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto gave a whoop and bounded back to his seat. Iruka hid a smile.

"Oh, and Naruto? To whom do you dedicate this poem to?"

Naruto blinked at him. His face scrunched up as he thought to himself.

"To Kiba!" he replied triumphantly, pointing at the boy. "Since he made me read that crappy thing."

"Hey, I was saving your ASS, man!" Kiba protested.

Iruka sighed. "Language, Kiba. All right then- who'd like to go next?"

At this point, many had warmed up to the idea and several hands rose up to the air. Naruto settled back to his seat, glad that the ordeal was done and over with. He playfully whacked Kiba on the head to return the boy's handout and neatly dodged the half hearted swing comeback.

"Shove off, blondie." Kiba bared his teeth, trying to look vicious.

"Shut thee up, oh Capt'n dog breath."

Kiba made a strangled noise that was halfway between a snarl and a snort. Naruto grinned at him.

"Be quiet now," Iruka sent a warning glare their way. "All right, Hayate- you can go next."

Naruto managed to listen for a full five minutes, before quickly losing interest and started doodling on his paper. A nose here... a mouth here... and a bunch of whiskers... tara! He proudly looked at his work. Kyuubi!

Delighted by his masterpiece, Naruto decided to draw more. He never once looked up for the remainder of the class.

"All right, for the last one to read their poem... let's see..." Iruka glanced around the classroom. "Sasuke, how about you?"

Naruto's hand stilled in his doodling and he looked up to gape at Iruka. Was the man mad? He doubted the Uchiha could string together a sentence, let alone a lengthy poem. Naruto's jaw dropped when he heard the scrape of Sasuke's chair as the boy stood up. He was seriously going to do it? He turned around to check if his ears were actually functioning right. Sure enough, the Uchiha had stood up and was making his way over to the front. Naruto eyes widened when he felt a brush of hand on his shoulder- so light, it was barely there. He followed the boy's dark form with confused eyes. What the hell?

Iruka smiled at Sasuke. "And who are you dedicating this to?"

Sasuke shrugged. Noticeably, several female backs straightened, and furtive looks were thrown at each other. Each were thinking the same thing: Sasuke's poem was for HER. Iruka nodded for him to start.

Sasuke smoothened out his paper. Naruto started when stormy black eyes looked up, pinning him to the spot. His jaw slackened as the Uchiha's lips stretched into a slow dark smirk.

"_Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?_

_Thou art more lovely and more temperate:_

_Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,_

_And summer's lease hath all too short a date_:"

Girls melted into dreamy sighs at the smooth silky voice of the dark haired Uchiha. Naruto snapped back from his daze when those intoxicating eyes moved away from him to glance back at his paper. He shifted uncomfortably and nervously looked around, hoping no one had noticed. No one had. They were too busy gawking at Sasuke.

"_Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,_

_And often is his gold complexion dimmed_,"

Some people blinked. His?

"_And every fair from fair sometime declines,_

_By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed;"_

Sasuke's eyes looked up to meet the blonde's again. This time, Naruto quickly looked away. The Uchiha deliberately slowed his words, his voice suddenly full of unnamed emotions- if that was the right word.

"_But thy eternal summer shall not fade,_" Sasuke softly continued.

"..._Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,_

_Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,_

_When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st._"

The class had fallen silent, enraptured. Naruto swallowed. He dared look up, and was immediately caught in those endless dark eyes. He was drowning.

"_So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,"_ Sasuke whispered, the class hanging on to his every word.

"_So long lives this, and this gives life to thee._"

Silence followed his finishing line. Faint chirping of birds announcing summer flowers could be heard just outside the window. Iruka was clutching his book to his chest, ultimately moved.

"Wonderful, Sasuke." He choked, giving him a bright smile. "Absolutely wonderful."

The spell was broken.

People started to come to their senses, and the girls broke into squeals and thundering applause.

"Sugoi, Sasuke-kun!"

"Sigh- Sasuke-kun is soooo romantic!!"

"Sasuke-kun!!"

Naruto shivered. Those dark eyes were going to be the end of him. Such dark, endless pools that you can easily drown... drown... drown...

"That person must be very special." Iruka knowingly smiled at Sasuke. He hadn't missed the 'he' in the poem. Definitely noteworthy.

The girls were giggling giddily.

"Sasuke-kun is so shy!"

"Marry me, Sasuke-kun!!"

"I love you too, Sasuke-kuuuuuun!!"

Sasuke ignored them.

"Why that particular poem though?" Iruka wondered. "'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'"

Sasuke smirked, shrugging casually.

"Blonde."

Naruto froze. Slowly, he looked around and realized with growing dread…

He was the only blonde guy in the class.


	9. Redirect me

AN:

Alright, so before you guys read this and start harping on me... I know your probably gonna hate me for this- but please be patient!! This chappie is dreadfully important! I'd just like to remind everyone that Naruto is NOT the weak, defenseless uke I may portray him to be. Give him time folks!

With that said- I hope your all ready for some angst scene!

Cheers!!

* * *

--

**Redirect me**

This way to the stars  
You told me where to go but please tell me how far  
Tell me what should I do  
If I reach the stars but get you  
And what if I make it there  
Will my heart still be lonely and bare  
Will the darkness wrap me in tight  
Our will my heart be the star that shines so bright  
This way to the stars  
If only I knew how far

-poem so sweetly given to me by Sora Jr... Thank you darling!!

--

* * *

"BOY!!"

Naruto slammed his books shut. Oh no.

"What the hell is it now??" Naruto whispered to himself, paling. He heard heavy footsteps padding up the stairs, and he realized with a panic that Sakura's father was coming up his room.

And he didn't sound too happy.

"YOU!"

His door slammed open, and Mr. Haruno stood by the door, his face screwed up in anger, his hands balled to a fist. Naruto knew by the looks of it that he was going to get beaten. And badly.

"What did I do now?" Naruto murmured, honestly having no idea.

"How DARE you?" the man snarled, his face a deep purple. The man was heavily built, with a squarish jaw and a large forehead. His eyes were deep set, giving him a closed look- but Naruto knew what those eyes were capable of. They were cruel eyes. Cold. Heartless.

"Learn your PLACE, boy!" He continued yelling, practically spraying Naruto with spit. "Have you no sense of gratitude at all, you ungrateful brat?! We took you in, we fed you, we made sure you stayed ALIVE- the least you could do is give some form of respect to us!"

Naruto remained silent. He learned this was the best way to deal with these situations. And though he still wasn't sure what this was all about, he had a suspicion...

"If I hear you bullying Sakura in school again, I will make sure that you do not get out of this house to see the light of day- EVER!"

Naruto balled his fists. Sakura. It figured.

"Is that what she said?" Naruto coldly said.

The Haruno's face stilled with barely controlled fury. Naruto immediately realized his mistake.

"No- wait-"

"YOU USELESS BOY! YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE RAT- I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Naruto quickly swallowed a pained cry as a heavy fist landed on his left cheek. Another blow hit him somewhere in his stomach. He doubled up in pain.

"I'VE NEVER SEEN SCUM LIKE YOU- HOW DARE YOU SHARE THE SAME ROOF WITH MY FAMILY AND NOT BE THANKFUL??" Naruto's knees gave out as a particularly harsh blow gutted him on the abdomen. He gritted his teeth and swallowed his cries. He would satisfy the man by crying out in pain- he'd rather bite his tongue. "HOW DARE YOU HURT SAKURA?!"

Naruto could not comprehend anything anymore after that. All he could understand was the hundreds of fists raining down his body, and the pain that ripped through him like a thousand knives tearing at his flesh. He prayed for a black out so he would not feel the pain any longer- but God was not merciful.

He shut his eyes and lay very still, praying that it would end soon. It didn't matter if he died. His ears were ringing with mixed cries- he didn't know which voices he was hearing anymore. There was one female one that he fancied to be screaming out his name... but he couldn't be sure. Darkness began creeping into his vision... licking at his sight. Naruto raised his arms to embrace it.

Then the world stopped.

Well, at least it seemed that way.

Naruto moaned inaudibly. His body, which had seemed numb and unfeeling for the past moments- it was retaliating. Viciously. Pain racked his body and it was all the blonde could do not to cry out. He wouldn't. Not now...

Biting back a pained sob, Naruto struggled to his feet, ignoring the pounding ache that was coursing through his head. Sakura's father was gone, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared. Wobbling unsteadily, he grabbed at his door knob- his aim? To get away. He had to run, or he wouldn't be able to-

He let out a strangled yelp as he bolted out of his room, tumbling down the stairs, not really seeing where he was going. All he knew was that he had to GET AWAY.

And so he ran.

He ran down the hall and out of the house, tripping down the last few steps and skidding down the porch way.

He ran.

To where, he wasn't exactly sure. But his feet had led him down winding streets and into an alley out to a secluded neighborhood. His throat was burning, his heart was pounding- but he didn't dare stop.

But then his legs had decided he had escaped far enough, and collapsed by a grassy area. It was a park, but more importantly- it was a deserted one. Naruto stumbled towards a dome-shaped alcove and crawled inside, seeking comfort. He curled up to his knees, the sand crunching beneath him. He stayed still for a few minutes, listening to his heart pound and his breath steady.

It was so quiet.

Naruto could hear soft trills of summer birds. But they were sad. The birds were crying for him. The blonde felt his eyes start to water, as his throat constricted. He bowed his head to his arms, and finally gave in.

He cried.

Hot tears seemed to run down in his cheeks in endless rivers, stinging his swollen cheeks. The blonde tried to wipe them away- but it hurt too much to do so. So he gave up and allowed the wetness to wash away his pain, watching through blurry eyes as his bitterness drenched the cold sand.

Who knew how long he stayed curled up like that? But it had been a long time since he cried so much. It had been a long time since he was BEATEN so much. The last time he was beaten like this- he shuddered. He did not want to remember it. Naruto wondered bitterly what exactly Sakura told her father for him to merit such harsh blows. No doubt she had faked tears to add fuel to the fire. The bitch.

"Oi."

Naruto blinked through his tears, confused for half a second. His ears were playing tricks on him again... he thought he heard-

"Why are you crying?"

How cruel.

Naruto slowly, so slowly, raised his eyes to look at the God who dared to intrude Hell. Whoever it was- he will burn. The flames of hell were not forgiving. Never forgiving.

"I said, why are you crying?"

The blonde raised a shaky hand to hide his eyes from the warm yet blinding rays of the setting sun. Why wasn't he burning?! Why was he still here?!

"Go away." Naruto whispered. He hated his voice. It was so broken.

"..."

Naruto heard footsteps shuffle, and he bowed his head once again in defeat. Everyone leaves him alone... No one stays in the end. It was the same. Always the same.

"You were beaten."

Naruto's head snapped up, and he was met with a pair of intense green eyes, the color of the crying sea. The blonde's jaw slackened. He opened his mouth as only one coherent thought formed in his mind.

"Gaara?"

* * *

It was not a happy place to be.

Gaara scowled as another empty bottle crashed from the living room. They were fighting. Again.

"Gaara..."

The redhead looked up from his magazine to frown at whoever intruded into his room.

"Temari."

The older girl bit her lip, and Gaara noted she was fighting back tears. What had his bastard father done now?

"They're fighting..." Temari murmured.

"They're always fighting." Gaara reminded her.

"It's my fault." She whispered fearfully, clutching the doorknob in a white-knuckled grip. "They're fighting because of me."

Gaara gazed at her levelly. "They fight because of a lot of things."

Temari shook her head. "Not this time. This time... this time..."

"They always fight." Gaara repeated firmly. "Inevitable. You have no fault."

Temari shifted guiltily. "I... I came home late last night." She confessed. "Father- h-he caught me, and Mother-"

"It doesn't matter now." Gaara interrupted. "Let them kill each other, I don't care."

"Gaara..."

The red head started to feel annoyed. Temari was usually a logical person, and fairly tolerable. But then again- she was a girl. Gaara realized that he would never appreciate women. They were too emotional and too troublesome.

Another heartfelt crash echoed from the sala, and Temari winced. Their mother was now screaming obscenities. It seemed they were both drunk. Gaara silently stood up and walked towards the doorway. Temari unconsciously stepped back. Gaara ignored her and went out the room, closing the door behind him with a firm click of the lock. Without sparing his sister a glance, the redhead continued down the hallway and went down the stairs. He gracefully sidestepped a wrecked and legless chair that was barring the hall and stepped out of the house- ignoring the shrieks that were ensuing just a room away.

The house was ugly.

Gaara glared at the magnificent white mansion with deep utmost loathing. He hated it. Snarling, he sharply turned his back to the building and made his way down the empty streets. His mind wandered as he walked around aimlessly. There was no point. He had no destination. The redhead frowned. It had always been that way. He never had a destination- he never had a place to go. No where at all.

Gaara silently padded over to a deserted park where he sometimes spent his time alone. No one ever came here anymore, mainly because a newer, nicer park with large slides and better swing sets had been built somewhere else. It was fine. Gaara preferred the area presently, than it was before.

He shuffled along the grassy area, watching his shadow flit through the seesaws. It was nearing sun set- and the sun had cast an orange glow on the park, making it seem like it was on fire.

Wait.

Gaara's brow furrowed as his sensitive ears picked on faint sounds.

Sadness.

He could hear sadness. And loneliness. The redhead looked around, trying to pinpoint where the sounds could be coming from. Someone was crying.

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he spied a form curled up under the shelter of a dome. Without realizing it, his feet had started moving towards the shaking figure, and soon enough he was standing in front of said shaking figure. It was a boy. Gaara raised a non-existing eyebrow. He recognized the sun kissed blonde hair.

"Oi."

Gaara's mouth opened on its own accord. Before he knew it, he was addressing the blonde.

"Why are you crying?"

Gaara watched in quiet fascination as the blonde froze, seeming to have an internal battle with himself. "I said, why are you crying?"

The blonde head slowly raised, and Gaara confirmed that it was indeed the blonde idiot from class who stole his seat from him. What was his name... Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki.

It was him, but at the same time, it wasn't. Indeed, the same impossibly blue eyes looked up to him from under the blonde head... but they held something that Gaara found unnervingly familiar.

They had the same eyes.

"Go away."

Gaara felt a vein in his temple twitch. He was about to turn around and leave- it wasn't his business after all- but then he caught sight of the bruises that were forming on the blonde's arms and eye. He paused. This too, he recognized.

"You were beaten." Gaara curtly said. It wasn't a question.

Finally, the blonde looked up to take in his face. Gaara kept his face stony as recognition flitted through Naruto's eyes.

"Gaara?"

Gaara cautiously kneeled beside the boy and stayed there. They stared at each other for a few minutes.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, his voice lacking its usual venom. He was too tired to be angry.

"I should ask you the same thing." Gaara shrugged.

"It's none of your business." Naruto managed to snap a little. "Go away. Leave me alone."

Gaara surprised himself when he didn't feel a twinge of annoyance. He found that he understood the blonde. He would have said the same thing.

"You were beaten." Gaara repeated.

Naruto tensed.

"I know you were beaten." Gaara interrupted before the blonde could deny the claim. "It shows."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "So yes, I was beaten. What's it to you?" his voice broke. "I know- you're going to make fun of me aren't you? You're going to tell everyone that the blonde idiot from 1-D gets physically abused and cried like a baby. Arent you?! Huh? You selfish, arrogant bastard-"

"I know you were beaten," Gaara continued, ignoring the hysterical blonde. "...Because they beat me too."

Naruto shut his mouth. His eyes widened a fraction as he took this in. The redhead was looking anywhere but at him. Naruto let out a breath as he unwound his legs a little.

"W-what?"

Gaara shrugged. "They beat me too. My father. Mostly when he's drunk."

Naruto stared at him, forgetting his own plight for half a moment. The redhead looked anything but the abused boy he claimed he was. But then again-

"So that's why your eyes looked so sad."

Gaara's head snapped back as he raised his eyes to the blonde. "What?"

Naruto looked at him closely, his head inching closer to the redhead to gaze into his eyes. "Your eyes..." he repeated. "When we first met- I thought you looked so sad."

"..."

Naruto took in a shuddering breath. "...It hurts, Gaara. I know I'm supposed to get used to it- but it hurts."

Gaara felt his mask crack a bit. It was the same. They were the same. The blonde knew of the unspeakable loneliness that ate at his being. The unbearable sadness of the world. The demon that threatened to overwhelm him.

"I know." Gaara murmured back.

Naruto felt his heart ease somewhat of the pain. There was someone who actually understood- who understood the nothingness that was everything. No words were exchanged, but Naruto knew that he had just bared his soul to the red head. But Gaara had not run away at the glimpse. He barely flinched.

That was because he was the same.

"...Are you going to tell anyone?" Naruto quietly asked.

"They wouldn't understand."

Naruto agreed wholeheartedly. "But you do."

Gaara raised his green eyes and met the blonde's own sapphires. He nodded. "I do."

Naruto felt the corner of his lips curl up into a smile. He sighed and leaned his head on the redhead's shoulder. Gaara tensed a bit, but relaxed almost immediately.

"I'm glad." Naruto sighed.

Darkness settled around them, but neither boy moved. Gaara silently reached into his pocket and pulled out his white handkerchief. He offered it to the blonde.

"No..." the blonde hesitantly shook his head. "I might dirty it."

The redhead ignored him and grabbed Naruto by the chin. Slowly, with gentleness he didn't know he possessed, he wiped at the drying tears and lightly caked blood on the blonde's left cheek. Naruto sighed again and closed his eyes, enjoying the light touches. Like this, it was almost like being taken cared of. He liked it.

"Who did this to you?"

Naruto opened his eyes, a bit surprised at the edge in the redhead's tone. "No one important..."

Gaara growled. "I told you about me."

Naruto sighed. "Really. It was no one important."

Gaara paused. "Was it your father?"

"I have no father."

"Your mother then."

"I have no mother."

Gaara furrowed his brows. "You have no parents?"

Naruto shrugged. "Ever since I was three."

Gaara frowned at the blonde skeptically. If he had no parents, who had beaten him up so badly? Abusive relatives?

"Can we just let this go, Gaara?" Naruto tiredly sighed. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Gaara didn't want to, but he nodded. It wasn't right for him to push the blonde to tell him something so ridiculously personal.

"Fine. But you have to tell me someday." The redhead said. It was only fair after all. He had told Naruto something about himself.

Naruto nodded. "Deal."

Comfortable silence fell.

"How are you going to cover up your bruises?" Gaara suddenly asked, eyes falling to the visible black and blues on his arm.

Naruto shrugged. "I'll think of something."

"Wear eyeliners."

The blonde raised a brow. "Is that what you call those ridiculous rings on your eyes?"

"They're perfectly logical." Gaara defended.

"What- looking like a raccoon is logical?" Naruto teased.

Gaara scowled at him. "They hide well."

Naruto immediately sobered.

"I see... I'm sorry, I didn't realize-"

"Now you do."

Naruto looked down at his hands. Gaara watched him a bit impatiently.

"So are you going to use it?"

"What, and look like a raccoon?" Naruto's lip quirked once again. "I'll pass."

The red head rolled his eyes.

Naruto raised his hand and slowly brought it up to Gaara's face. The red head instinctively flinched- but stayed still enough to allow the questing hands to rest on his face. Naruto traced the heavy black rings around the red head's eyes, his touch wondering... worshipping.

"Does it hurt?"

Gaara knew what he meant.

"I'm used to it." The red head murmured.

Naruto looked sad. "No one should get used to loneliness."

"You must, if you want to survive."

Naruto sighed. "I know."

Was eternity passed in silence? Maybe it was so- at least, it was to Naruto. Sitting here, with Gaara, was strangely peaceful and comforting. If eternity would begin- he wouldn't mind that much. Not really.

"Do you have a place to go back to?" Gaara looked at the blonde.

Naruto shook his head. "I've never even had a place to look forward to."

Gaara felt another crack in his mask. Yes. Exactly the same.

"How about you?" Naruto cocked his head.

Gaara gazed at him silently. "What about me?"

"Do you have a family?" Naruto cautiously asked.

"Define family."

The blonde blinked. "You know, people who make you feel happy. And warm."

Gaara shrugged. "No."

"I see." Naruto sighed, swirling the sand with a finger. "You're really brave, Gaara."

The red head suppressed a growl. "I'm not."

"You are." Naruto insisted. "Look at me. Weak. Absolutely worthless." He smiled wryly. "I can't even keep from crying."

Gaara chose to keep silent.

"I hate it sometimes- when this happens..." Naruto smiled weakly, swiping at his wet cheeks. "It just falls you know?"

Gaara silently handed him the hanky. This time, Naruto didn't refuse.

"You- don't you dare tell anyone about this." The blonde sobbed, burying his face into his hands. "'m- g-gonna k-kick your ass!"

"..."

The redhead offered nothing but his silence. Gaara stayed absolutely still and watched the blonde cry earnestly into the darkness. Naruto didn't hold back- couldn't hold back. Gaara let him drown- the blonde needed it. Besides, he would be there to pull him back up for air.

And so eternity passed.

With no one but the stars to witness it.


	10. Lost

--

**Lost**

"He died with God's name in his lips,

and a bullet through his heart."

-Villain

--

* * *

"Oi, Naruto." Kiba blinked curiously at the blonde. "What happened to your face??"

Naruto winced, his hand slipping on his books. The very same books he had been reading when the Haruno senior paid him a visit just the other day.

He had hoped no one would ask too many questions. The gauze he stuck on his cheek was the most inconspicuous concealer he could manage.

"I fell." The blonde put on a large, sheepish, grin, scratching his head.

Kiba didn't believe him.

"It looks more like a punch to me." Kiba leaned closer, smirking. "Did you get into a fight yesterday? Why didn't you tell me?!"

Naruto laughed loudly, but didn't say anything more.

"So do tell." Kiba hooked one arm over his chair and looked expectantly at the blonde.

"Tell you what?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Who was it? Was it some senior? A teacher? A runt? What?"

Naruto cursed him. His voice was too damn loud! Almost more than one curious look was thrown his way, and a few people were drawing closer.

"Did you get into a fight, Uzumaki-kun?" a girl he never saw before curiously asked.

"That's a right nasty bruise by the looks of it." A boy who looked like the bossy know it all type, clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Barely a month, and getting into scuffles, Uzumaki-san?

Naruto growled.

"Hey, bug off. I'm trying to interpolate here." Kiba snapped waspishly at the interested group. He turned back to his blonde friend. "So, who was it?? Come on, tell me!"

Naruto felt trapped. He didn't know what to do. Telling Kiba where he had REALLY gotten his bruise was a definite no-no...

"Leave him alone."

Gaara parted the group of on-lookers like Moses to a sea. His usual stern face looked scarier than usual- if that was possible. No one wanted to be at its receiving end.

"Gaara..." Naruto nearly sighed with relief. Here was a distraction at last!

The redhead glared at his fellow classmates, as if challenging them to come any closer. No one dared rise up to it. With a squeak, backs hurriedly turned and scurried away, afraid at what Gaara was capable of doing to them. Kiba was too busy gaping at him to run.

"I told you to wear eyeliners." The redhead said, slightly accusing.

Naruto threw him a dirty look. "Well, I didn't want to. And besides," the blonde pointed at his gauzed cheek. "A lot of help it would do."

Gaara snorted, taking his seat by the window. "Stubborn."

"Learned from the master." Naruto smoothly replied.

Kiba wisely stayed silent as he watched the two interact. So, sue him, he really didn't get it. Last time he checked, Gaara and Naruto were just about ready to kill each other. Birds of a feather.

Gaara raised a hand and thoughtlessly poked the blonde's cheek. Naruto yelped.

"HEY! That hurt, asshole!"

Kiba frowned. That's more like it.

"Just checking." The red head shrugged.

"You could have just asked." Naruto hissed.

Gaara did not bother to reply.

"Oi, Kiba." Naruto glanced at the still silent boy. "What's wrong with you?"

Kiba scowled at him. That would be the pot calling the kettle black- or rather, asking the kettle black. Whatever!

"I still want to know where you got that bruise, Uzumaki."

Naruto grinned at him. "Let's just say I won a glorious battle of which details you shouldn't really know about."

"Goddamn you, blondie." Kiba swore.

Naruto winked.

Kiba was about to retort the foulest insult he could think of, when he caught the dark warning glare Gaara sent him. The boy felt his hair rise as those green eyes promised a very gory consequence if he did not shut up. Kiba liked living and breathing, thank you very much.

"Nothing to say?" Naruto teased, oblivious to what had transpired. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Kiba bristled. But Gaara's glare remained implanted in his mind. His mouth stayed shut. Naruto blinked in confusion. Kiba usually reacted (too) violently to his teasing... was the boy sick?

"Naruto."

"What?" Naruto glanced back at the redhead.

Gaara fixed his green gaze at him.

"Shut up."

The blonde looked deeply offended. "What?! Now see here, you deranged raccoon-"

"Don't call me that."

Kiba decidedly stood up and inched away from the gradually escalating bicker and wisely moved up to a surprisingly awake Shikamaru.

"So... what d'you make of this?" Kiba muttered, plopping beside the pony tailed boy who was leaning on his elbows.

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Tell me, Shika, Did I miss anything?" Kiba furrowed his brow in honest confusion. "I mean, I'm pretty sure just yesterday, Uzumaki was saying something 'bout how much of an asshole Gaara was and shit..."

"Some things are better left unknown." Shikamaru philosophically muttered.

Kiba frowned at him. "Were you reading Shakespeare?" he asked suspiciously.

"No."

"Where do you come up with your shit?" Kiba shook his head.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'd like to ask you the same thing."

"Uh oh..." Kiba muttered under his breath.

The lazy boy took note of the genuine apprehension in Kiba's voice to actually look up from his position.

"The Uchiha just arrived."

Shikamaru watched silently as said Uchiha sauntered into the room, pausing by the doorframe as he was blocked by his endless array of fan girls.

"This cant be good." Kiba continued, frowning. "Maybe I should warn Naruto?"

"Of what?" Shikamaru snorted.

"I dunno. Of impending death?"

"What's the Uchiha have to do with the blonde?" Shikamaru propped his chin on one hand.

"Nothing." Kiba promptly replied. "But if I know one thing, Uchiha and Gaara shouldn't be put in the same sentence together. Ever."

"Point."

"So I'll warn him..."

Kiba paused, as if waiting for something. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow when the boy turned to stare at him.

"I'm not stopping you." Shikamaru said.

"You were supposed to." Kiba pointed out.

"Uzumaki."

Naruto paused from ranting off Gaara's ear to look up to whoever had called him. His face darkened as he caught the familiar black pools.

"Uchiha- what do you want?"

Sasuke narrowed eyes flicked briefly over to Gaara for a second, before turning glaring eyes on the blonde.

"Why are you in my seat?"

Naruto looked incredulous. "Geez, I was just sitting man! Sorry to have intruded into your property!"

Gaara snorted.

Sasuke ignored him. "I was just asking. No need to get defensive."

"Well, smart ass, since your so nice and all- why don't you make like a tree and leave now?" Naruto suggested.

Sasuke was about to reply, when he caught eye of the blonde's bruised and gauzed cheek. Immediately, his hand went up to cup said cheek.

"Who did this?" Sasuke demanded, tracing a finger over the rough gauze.

Naruto started. "Huh?"

"Who hit you?" Sasuke repeated, his tone never wavering. His suspicious eyes flicked once again to the redhead.

"None of your business, asshole." Naruto snapped. But before he could bat away the hand on his cheek, another pale hand joined the party and gripped the Uchiha's wrist in a painful lock. Naruto looked up, surprised.

"Gaara?"

The redhead never took his glowering eyes off the black haired Uchiha.

"Don't. Touch. Him." Gaara hissed, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

Sasuke looked annoyed. "Let go of me, Sabaku."

"You wont come near him." Gaara ignored the direct order, fixing steel green eyes on the boy.

"Let go of me." Sasuke repeated in a dangerously soft voice. "Or I swear, I will break your hand."

"You can try."

Naruto looked alarmed at the sudden display of violence. He tugged on Gaara's sleeve.

"Gaara, you freaking sod! Let go of Sasuke- geez!"

Gaara never took his eyes off his captain. "Not until he promises never to come near you." He firmly said.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"What are you, my mother? Let the bastard go, Gaara-"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Naruto yelled, frustrated. He ran an agitated hand through his blonde locks and turned to the equally glowering Sasuke.

"Teme!" said Naruto. "Why don't you just give what Racoon-guy here wants so we can all go home and be happy??"

Sasuke gazed at him stonily. "That is one promise I cannot keep."

"What, you can't stay away from me?" Naruto joked, attempting to lift the dark mood.

Sasuke did not reply, and Naruto was a bit unnerved by his lack of response. A few more seconds passed and still, nobody had moved an inch.

"Oh for pete's sake- you can't just go on glaring at each other like that!" Naruto burst out.

"If I must." Gaara growled.

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Why are you doing this in the first place?!" the blonde yelled.

"I want him to stop bothering you." Gaara immediately replied.

Sasuke was pissed. "What, Sabaku- are you his keeper now?"

"No!" Naruto cried.

"Yes." Gaara muttered at the same time.

The blonde threw him a dirty glare.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard echoing down the hall and the door slid open to reveal a panting girl- with a certain SC president on tow.

"What seems to be the problem?"

Naruto glare instantly disappeared. "NEJI!!"

The class burst into flurried whispers as some girls fainted on the spot. The SC president- the Hyuuga himself, was in their classroom!!

"Hello, Naruto." Neji greeted, his face relaxing just a tiny bit to regard the blonde. His eyes immediately wrinkled in concern as he spied the apparent bruises on his cheek. "Are you alright?"

"No." Naruto pouted, completely missing the question as he pointed to the two still boys with their interlocked grips. "They're being asshole's and fighting over really stupid stuff!"

Neji turned a calculating eye on the two formidable looking boys, deciding in an instant that this was a matter of pride. He sighed. It was never easy to deal with one's dignity.

"What stupid stuff?" Neji pressed, stepping closer to the blonde.

Gaara's eyes narrowed at him and Sasuke immediately scowled. Neji did not miss their reactions. Suspicious, he decided to test his theory.

"Tell me exactly what happened, Naruto." Neji casually slipped an arm around the boy's shoulder.

Immediately, Sasuke tensed. Gaara meanwhile growled menacingly and let go of the Uchiha in favor of dragging the Hyuuga away from Naruto.

"Don't touch him." Gaara protectively wrenched Naruto away.

Neji's keen eyes noted the way the red head was careful not to rough handle the blonde- being especially cautious on the arms. The wheels in his head worked out a few puzzles, however the result was not yet evident.

"Like hell you would." Sasuke growled back, already attempting to reach the blonde. Naruto yelled something about not being a yoyo.

Neji decided on a more tactical plan. "I don't plan to hurt him, Gaara-san. I just want to know what happened."

Gaara frowned at him. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Bullshit." Sasuke snapped as whatever patience he had left evaporated. "The dobe isn't some _thing_ you can just call your own, Sabaku. You have no right in telling me what to do."

Neji somewhat agreed with the Uchiha, but wisely remained silent.

"I have now."

The Hyuuga took one look at the murderous eyes of the Uchiha and decided it was time for him to step in. He raised a halting hand on both parties, trying to look calmer than he felt. Truth be told, he was a bit angry at the two- how dare they speak of Naruto like they owned him?

"Fighting is a violation to the school rules." Neji sternly said, appealing to their reasoning. "If you kill yourselves here- the school wont be responsible of your bodies."

Sasuke- the more reasonable of the two, somewhat calmed down. Gaara, however, remained fiercely protective of the blonde. Neji kept in a sigh. It would have to do.

"I can see we would solve nothing here like this. Why don't we ask Naruto about what he thinks about this all?" Neji turned questioning eyes to the silent boy.

Naruto, who had fallen silent, blinked confusedly up at the Hyuuga.

"I think you are all stark raving mad." He finally said.

"Speak for yourself, dobe." Sasuke muttered.

"So, what do you propose we do?" Neji continued, ignoring the Uchiha.

"We mind our own business, and leave Naruto alone." Naruto quipped, crossing his arms. "And that includes you." Naruto glared at Gaara, who promptly ignored him.

Neji was perceptive enough to realize that Naruto obviously didn't want his cheek to be mentioned, and wisely forced his longing to question the blonde. He'd ask him later, he thought. He crossed his arms and regarded the three boys.

"You heard Naruto. He wants to be left alone."

Not that he would ever adhere to something like that... Apparently, the two others shared the same thoughts.

"I want to know who hurt him." Sasuke firmly said.

So do I, Neji silently agreed.

"It's none of your business." said Gaara.

Sasuke threw him an ugly glare. "You stay away from this-"

Naruto raised a hand and stepped towards the Uchiha. "Stop! Don't you start!!"

Sasuke frowned at him. Naruto leveled his stare.

"Gaara's right, it's really none of your business. But if you must know- I ran, hit myself on the wall, smack- right there, crashed to the ground and bruised all over."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. As if he'd believe that.

"Really, that's all." Naruto softly said. His eyes begged the Uchiha not to say anything more.

This was more effective than anything the Hyuuga or Gaara could ever achieve.

"Next time, watch where you're going, dobe." Sasuke finally said, his dark eyes never leaving the blonde's. He looked into the oh-so-blues... as if looking for answers in a seascape of still canvas.

Neji felt his eye twitch.

It was Gaara's turn to roll his eyes, but remained silent.

"All right then." Neji shrugged, trying to keep his tone level. "I must attend to my own classes now. Naruto, will you be alright?"

Naruto snorted, giving him an incredulous look. "Of course! Who do you think you're talking to?"

Neji's lips curved into a small smile (more girls fainted) and nodded. "Then it's time I go. You two," he regarded the now silent Gaara and Sasuke. "Hands off."

Sasuke and Gaara both dryly wondered what exactly the Hyuuga was referring to hands off. Naruto walked Neji to the door, waving at him enthusiastically.

"Bye Neji!" Naruto yelled. "You still owe me for not telling me you're the freaking SC president!!"

Neji popped his head from around the hall. He looked amused. "Of course, Naruto."

Naruto laughed, shooing him away. When Neji disappeared, the blonde gave a silent prayer and marched back into the room. Thankfully, Sasuke and Gaara weren't tearing at each other- at least, not yet. They were both silent, watching him as a hawk would watch their prey. Naruto kept from rolling his eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know what's with the both of you," Naruto began. "But I don't want any part of it, you get me?"

Gaara refused to open his mouth.

"Sasuke?" the blonde addressed him.

The Uchiha ignored him.

Naruto ran a frustrated hand through his blonde locks. "Gah! I give up! You two are hopeless! Bastards! Assholes! The lot of you!"

Giving one last disgusted glare at the two, Naruto stomped towards Kiba and Shikamaru. Well, at least- a semblance of them. It seemed Kiba had suffered a cardiac arrest somewhere along the line. Shikamaru was trying to revive him.

Sasuke dropped gracefully into his seat, refusing to acknowledge the redhead. Gaara returned the favor by turning his head towards the window and staring out to the field. Still, it was pretty difficult to tell with the two. Stoic expressions could only tell so much.

One never knows what the other was thinking.

Not really.


	11. Misfortune

AN:

This is a revolutionary day, everyone... Finally, after a month (and then some) of agony and torture, I am very proud to present to you chapter eleven... haha! To those sweet darlings who have loyally journeyed with me in AFF, this is where we pick up! (Quote the quote on chapter 3 ) And to those who are yet to join me- welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride. And so, cookie here, once again signing back! I happily welcome you and I hold up only one sign: -This way to the stars.

Happy reading!

* * *

--

**Misfortune**

"Don't hate me for what you can't be."

-cookie

--

* * *

"I'm home."

Sasuke toed off his shoes and blinked at the cold, bare walls of the Uchiha mansion. He never really meant those words. Home... what home? This was a house- no, a building. It was merely a building.

His muffled footsteps were the only sounds in the hall as he headed his way towards his bedroom. He barely noticed the small pictures frames hanging somewhat forlornly along the meticulous hall. They weren't noteworthy. In fact, they were too ugly. The people in the picture looked like dolls. Not beautiful, porcelain ones. Ugly ones. Wretched ones. Those cold, plastic dolls you paint faces on, and dress up in pretty dresses to hide the ugliness they possessed. Sasuke snorted.

"Are you, really?"

Sasuke paused mid step and contemplated turning around. Deciding it wasn't worth his time, he continued going up his room.

"Home…" the voice continued, somewhere behind him. "Such a delicate term."

Sasuke kept walking.

"It's a shame. I do wonder sometimes why you say it."

He felt the pinpricks of annoyance. "What the hell do you want, Itachi? You're unusually talkative today."

"Am I?"

The Uchiha finally decided to turn around to address the older boy. "What do you want?" Sasuke repeated.

Itachi calmly regarded the younger Uchiha. "I don't know, Sasuke. Why don't you tell me?"

Sasuke restrained rolling his eyes. "You're annoying. Leave me alone."

He started going up the stairs again.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke ignored him.

"Father's home."

Sasuke's hand froze on his doorknob. He never even got to open the door.

* * *

"And how are you doing at school, Itachi?"

"Well."

"Excellent. You must study hard, so you may precede me as the next Uchiha heir. Do not disappoint me, Itachi."

"I won't, father."

Sasuke glared at his plate as he sat dejectedly on his seat at the far end of the table. He cursed whatever god heard him for being such a sadistic bastard. His father had come home, and he did not know. If he had, he would have stayed way away from the house until the man disappeared again.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as the tone, which had been encouraging to Itachi, suddenly turned icy cold on him.

"Yes, Father?"

"And you? Are you doing well?"

"Marvelously." Sasuke smiled with as much contempt as he could muster.

"Do you still play that disgusting sport?" the Uchiha senior's heavy face scowled. "I told you to stop, hadn't I?"

Sasuke forced himself not to snap back. "Yes father."

"So were you obedient?"

"I apologize."

The man snorted disgustedly, his tone raising as he turned towards Itachi once again.

"You teach your brother some decency, Itachi!" the senior sternly said. "The boy clearly does not know what's best for him!"

"I'm sure Sasuke does, Father." said Itachi.

Sasuke tuned out the man's voice, as he let his eyes remain focused on his plate. It was always like this- at any rate, the evening would have the same ending. It was boring the hell out of him.

"I must be off." The Sasuke senior stood up from the table.

Finally.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and thankfully stood up. Not even bothering to follow the man outside the hall, he ignored Itachi's silent motion to him and steadily marched up to his room. He refused to acknowledge whatever sound from downstairs and shut the door a little too loudly.

Ah. His room. It was his haven. The only place in the entire house he felt comfortable in. Probably because it had no trace of the Uchiha family whatsoever. Well, ignore the fan-shaped logo crested on his bed, and we're all set to go.

Sasuke flopped onto his satin bed sheets and allowed a sigh to escape his lips. He could hear the slam of the car door just outside and the roar of the Volvo as it kicked to life. Good riddance- Sasuke thought, his mood not improving a bit. Sitting up agitatedly, he surveyed outside his window and silently watched the car round the corner and disappear.

His father's (very) scarce visits were more or less uneventful- just as this one had been. Sasuke deeply hated them- hated him.

The boy scowled darkly to himself as his father's voice echoed in his head.

"_Are you still playing that disgusting sport?" _

Sasuke gave himself a pat on the back at the man's obviously disgruntled face. Of course he was still playing it. Anything to annoy the man.

It was a late Friday afternoon... God knew he hated lazy afternoons like these. Sasuke's dark eyes roamed over the immaculate gardens and pristine white fence, not the least bit impressed with what he saw. A fountain pond at the center of the frontier reflected the white mansion in the afternoon light. It looked like a dollhouse. Cold. Hard. Perfect. Like plastic.

Sasuke was jerked out of his brooding when a flash of familiar blonde walked past the gates of the Uchiha mansion. The dark eyed boy blinked and narrowed his eyes. There was no mistaking that shock of blonde- It was the dobe.

He turned on his heels and swept out of the room, his former mood forgotten. His mind barely registered Itachi's shadow looming over him as he walked briskly out of the mansion, intent on catching up to the blonde.

Sasuke reached the streets and glanced around, his brows furrowing as Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Sasuke muttered, annoyed.

Deciding the dobe would most probably head towards the more commercialized area, Sasuke set out for the nearest busy street. As he rounded the corner, he smirked as he immediately spotted said blonde looking into a shop window, biting his lip.

Sasuke easily melded into the shadows as he continued watching the blonde. Naruto was gazing longingly at whatever was on display- and Sasuke distractedly wondered what it was.

"Forget it." Naruto sighed in defeat, his shoulders drooping. Shuffling his feet, the blonde continued on his way, his hands shoved into his pocket.

Sasuke silently followed, but paused a while to look at what had caught the blonde's attention.

He continued staring.

There, resting on a dark purple pouf was the ugliest looking purse he had ever seen.

It was obviously, a bad imitation of a frog, with soft looking green covering/skin complete with limp fore and hind legs. Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the nearly bug eyed look of the supposed frog. Was the dobe enamored with this crappy looking thing??

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the horrible display and opted to continue following Naruto. The blonde was heading towards the grocery, and the automatic doors dutifully opened to let him in. Sasuke slipped inside and silently grabbed a basket. Might as well look busy.

He diligently followed the blonde as he wandered around the vegetable section, absently glancing at his list. Once or twice, Sasuke had to make an about face so as not to be discovered- but Naruto was focused on his task that Sasuke doubted the blonde would give him a second glance even if he walked right by him dancing the cha-cha. As if he'd ever do something so stupid.

Naruto then continued on to other sections, selecting items and tossing them into his basket. Sasuke briefly wondered why he was buying so much. He could only conclude his family was large. It took a while- the blonde was obviously unfamiliar with the place and kept wandering around in circles. Finally though, he was done.

"Oh, wait-" Naruto paused, consulting his list once again. "I forgot the eggs."

Sasuke rolled his eyes in exasperation. Of course he forgot the eggs. The dark eyed boy slapped a hand to his forehead as Naruto walked right by the egg cartons, still intent on finding said products.

"He really is a dobe." Sasuke muttered to himself, watching Naruto scratch his head in confusion as he stopped by the Dairy section.

"Strange- it should have been here..."

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing a random egg carton, he placed it by the shelf of canned products where it looked starkly out of place and somewhat hard to miss. If the dobe still didn't spot it...

Naruto shrugged and turned around, murmuring something about forgetting it. Then he saw it.

"Whoa- where did that come from?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes once again as the blonde confusedly picked up the carton, weighing it in his hands experimentally. Naruto blinked up at the aisle where it serenely proclaimed: "Canned Goods."

"Hn, this supermarket is really weird." Naruto decided, carefully placing the carton in his already overflowing basket.

The line wasn't long per se, but the people carried so many goods. Naruto shifted the basket uncomfortably in his arms as he waited for his turn. He mentally recapped all the things he stuffed into the basket, hoping he didn't forget anything. The Cook wouldn't be too happy if he did.

He let his eyes wander over to the magazine stands and read the titles off.

'Big bombing in Northern Korea.'

'Genetically Cloned Babies?!'

'Superman might be real!'

'Soccer League starting this September!'

Naruto read the last one with disinterest. Nothing newsworthy was ever up these days. Always the same havoc and mayhem and sometimes a peek on the jock's side of town. Sports. Bah.

"Next."

Naruto sighed in relief as he dropped the basket on the counter, proceeding to dish the contents out for the clerk to ring off. She was a kind looking lady, and although she looked tired, still managed a warm smile to the blonde. Naruto looked startled for a moment before smiling back.

"Family grocery?" she amiably asked, gesturing to the many goods she was ringing.

"Sort of."

The woman- wholooked mid twenties thereabouts, nodded knowingly. "Out for an errand, aren't you?"

Naruto smiled somewhat bitterly. "You can say that."

"That's a twenty."

Naruto fished out the right amount and paid, offering to help stuff the products into the bags. She smiled, refusing, saying it was her job.

"Please come again."

Naruto grimaced while nodding his acknowledgement, as he experimentally lifted the bags. It was darn heavy. He ignored staring customers and heaved the bags dangerously out of the store, refusing to protest against the weight. Sasuke silently followed him out, absently muttering something about buying too much.

Sasuke easily kept track of the blonde who was plodding along the busy streets at a snail pace, courtesy of his heavy parcels. Naruto was heading back towards the heart of Konoha- where only people with high social status could afford living in- and Sasuke wondered for half a second if Naruto was from a rich family. He quickly dismissed the thought as he watched Naruto stumble for a hundredth time, figuring that a rich son of a rich family wouldn't be sent out for a scandalous errand as such...

"Isn't the dobe going to take a cab?" Sasuke muttered irritably, getting annoyed as pedestrians shoved against the blonde, not even stopping to apologize.

Sasuke scowled when Naruto paused once again to look into the same window that showcased the god-ugly purse. Naruto sighed for the second time as he forced himself to turn away from the window. He couldn't afford that purse! Best he forget about it!

They were nearing the train station where passengers hurriedly took off, trapping Naruto in a stampede of grumpy and irritated jaywalkers.

"Watch it!" A man impatiently slammed past him, nearly making him drop the bags.

"Hey, I'm walking here!" Naruto yelled.

His cries fell on deaf ears, and the blonde cursed once again, shifting his bags in his arms. "Honestly! This place is full of jerks- no good, bloody, rude, sorry excuse of-"

That was IT.

"...not to mention detesting, bitchy, temperamental- HEY!"

Naruto jerked back in surprise as someone grabbed the bag in his hand. He was about to yell 'thief!' and readied himself to punch the living daylights out of the said accused 'thief', when his eyes fell on the annoyed, and yet oh-so-familiar stormy eyes of-

"Sasuke!"

"Can't you manage _anything_ by yourself, dobe?"

Naruto swallowed back his initial surprise and immediately took offense.

"What?! What are you talking about? What are you doing here anyway? Were you..." he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Were you FOLLOWING me?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blonde. "Don't flatter yourself. Get your ass moving, we're taking a cab."

Naruto gaped as the boy walked confidently towards the vicinity of the cab lane, without even a second glance at the blonde. It took a second for Naruto to realize that Sasuke had HIS groceries.

"Hey! Those are mine! Give 'em back you bastard!"

Sasuke ignored him and hailed a yellow cab, stepping into it and looked up at Naruto expectantly. The blonde was standing outside the vehicle, his arms crossed petulantly.

"Get in, dobe."

"No." Naruto flatly refused, tilting his head stubbornly to one side. "I'm not getting into a cab with you even if you were the last person on earth."

"You'd rather walk back?" Sasuke asked dryly.

Naruto hesitated but stuck his chin up. "That's right!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Do as you please. I'm taking the cab then."

"Give me back my groceries!"

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm bringing them. Where do you live?"

Naruto lost his train of thoughts as he gaped at him. "W-what?"

Sasuke sighted impatiently. "I said, where do you live?"

"W-wha- It- b-but-" Naruto stammered. "You can't do that!" he blurted out.

"Why not?"

"W-well, because-" Naruto stammered, suddenly getting nervous. "W-why do I have to explain myself to you anyway? Just give me back my stuff!"

"No."

"Give 'em back, Uchiha, or by god I will force you to."

"You and who's army?" Sasuke dryly muttered.

The cab driver was now drumming his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. "Are we gonna go or what? I don't have all day, you know."

Sasuke leveled the man with a cold glare, and glanced at Naruto.

"Don't be such a dobe, and get in the cab, usuratonkachi." He hissed.

Naruto was getting angry. "Fuck you, Uchiha! I said I don't want to take a cab- what the hell do you want from me anyway?!"

"A ride."

Naruto blinked in confusion, his anger momentarily forgotten. "A what?"

Sasuke looked at him, his expression unreadable. "I want a ride."

Naruto scratched his head. "I don't have a ride. I'm walking."

Sasuke shook his head. "I want a ride." He clarified. "With you."

Naruto stared at him.

"Oh." He said in a small voice.

Sasuke regarded him silently for a while.

"Now will you get in?"

Naruto hesitated for a bit, but reluctantly stepped inside the cab. He bit his lip uneasily as he closed the door. The driver sighed in exasperation and started the car. Finally.

"Where do you live?"

Naruto looked down at his hands. "Er- Moonwalk boulevard. Just- drop me off at the end of the street."

Sasuke snorted. "That's pointless. What's the number of the house?"

"Just drop me off at the street, Uchiha." Naruto insisted. "I'll just walk from there."

Sasuke sighed exasperatedly. "Fine."

The ride was in relative silence, while Naruto stared fixedly out of the window of the vehicle. His mind was still very much confused with what the Uchiha had said, which was primarily why he was riding the blasted cab in the first place. Naruto rubbed his forehead as he felt the stirrings of a growing headache. Gah. The Uchiha was a mystery. One that his brain sadly cannot solve.

They drove into the more suburban area of Konoha and soon, they were driving up Moonwalk boulevard.

"Here's fine, thanks." Naruto stiffly stepped out of the cab.

Sasuke handed a twenty to the driver and didn't bother about the change. He too stepped out of the cab. Naruto looked at him warily.

"Can I have my grocery bags now?'

Sasuke shrugged.

"I'll walk you there."

"No need." Naruto waved a dismissing hand. "I'm a big boy you know, I think I can manage just fine."

"Somehow, I doubt that."

The boy started walking down the street, still refusing to let go of the plastic bag. "Lead the way, dobe."

Naruto squashed the urge to strangle the dark haired boy and resigned to his fate, falling into step with the Uchiha.

"Has anyone ever told you you're an asshole?" Naruto sighed.

"Plenty."

Naruto snorted. "Do you enjoy tormenting people, or something? That's sick, man."

Sasuke shrugged. "It's a talent."

"Something you so obviously have." Naruto sighed.

The blonde fell silent as the more familiar buildings came to view. He was beginning to panic. He desperately didn't want Sasuke to know where he lived- it would rouse too many questions. Questions he could not afford to answer.

"Sas- Uchiha." Naruto cleared his throat, stopping in his tracks as he spied the familiar black gates. "Um, thanks for the ride and all that. I can manage it from here."

Sasuke frowned at him. "I'll walk you to your gate. It cant be that far off... can it?" his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Do you really live here?"

"Yes." Naruto snapped. "So thanks for the help. You can go now."

Sasuke gazed at him steadily. "You don't want me to know where you live." It wasn't a question.

Naruto flushed. "Yeah, something like that."

"...Why?"

Naruto gave an internal sigh. He knew this was gonna happen.

"None of your business, Uchiha. Just go away already. You got your ride, I get my stuff. You leave, I go home. Okay?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort.

"Sasuke-kun?!"

Naruto jerked back in surprise, paling as a familiar crop of pink stood by the doorway of the Haruno's. His mind screamed at him to run- get away. But he knew it was no use. He was SO fucked up.

Sakura quickly got over her initial surprise, and a delighted look blossomed on her face. She quickly ran over to the pair, ignoring the rigid blonde. Sasuke quickly schooled his face into a stony glare, refusing to acknowledge the squealing girl.

"Sasuke-kun! It really is you, Sasuke-kun! How did you know where I live?" she squealed excitedly, bouncing on her feet.

"I didn't."

"I see, of course you didn't." Sakura giggled, giving him a knowing wink. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun, I wont think any less of you."

Sasuke glared at her disgustedly. Naruto had the mind to keep quiet, hoping very much that Sakura would totally ignore him and not spoil everything. But, as usual, you got to hand it to the girl to do the exact opposite.

"You. What are you doing here?" Sakura coldly snapped at Naruto.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he felt the Uchiha's eyes flick over to him.

"I was just getting groceries." Naruto mumbled half to himself.

God, Sakura- just shut up. Please just shut up, Naruto pleaded in his head.

Sakura sniffed disdainfully. "Well, what are you waiting for then? Get inside and start my bath. Really, you are so useless."

Naruto wanted to die. He begged whatever gods heard him to shoot him now. He fought back bitter tears as his world slowly crumbled down, leaving him starkly naked and vulnerable. Damn it all. Damn it all to hell!

Naruto couldn't look at Sasuke. Keeping his head down, he silently grabbed for the bags that were still clutched in Sasuke's hand. But the boy was proving once again to be an asshole, as he wouldn't let go of the bag.

"Let go." Naruto hissed.

"Apologize." Sasuke's angry tone made Naruto look up for a moment. But the Uchiha's bloodcurdling glare was not aimed at him- it was towards Sakura.

"Apologize. NOW." The Uchiha demanded, still intent on drilling a hole into the girl. But Sakura did not even acknowledge the danger she was in, as she even had the gall to blink in confusion.

"Apologize to who, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke could not believe her audacity. He refused to get worked up over such stupidity, but it did not help his already rising temper. Naruto apparently smelled danger and quickly grabbed the bag while the boy was distracted.

"Thanks again." The blonde whispered so only the brunette would hear, and fled towards the house before Sasuke could even react.

Sasuke cursed as the door slammed shut.

"Do you want to come in for a while, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked sweetly. "We can have tea-"

"What is your relationship to Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sakura blinked. "What? Why do you want to know, Sasuke-kun?"

"Just answer me."

Sakura sighed testily. "He's nobody, Sasuke-kun. Don't bother with him anymore."

Sasuke growled. "Don't make me repeat myself."

"He's a houseboy." Sakura shrugged. "A personal slave, if you must. Like I said, a nobody. His parents were drunkards and abandoned him to us- but what would you care about him, ne Sasuke-kun?"

She blinked.

The Uchiha was walking away.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried, trying to run after him. "Where are you going?!"

Sasuke didn't even turn around and disappeared around a corner.

Sakura pouted. "I'll talk to him tomorrow." She decided, skipping back into the house, never even realizing that Sasuke had asked her nothing but of the blonde. And perhaps that was a good thing- for Naruto was already dying inside his room. He wouldn't be able to take it if Sakura would add more to his pain (if that was possible) by throwing another hissy fit and go crying to her father.

He would definitely die then.


	12. Frienemy

AN:

I outdid myself in this chapter folks... haha. I was so very pleased, and I hope you like it as well. Please review and tell me what you think! Remember, Reviews mean the world to all authors. Be a dear and leave a nice, long review! I love you forever if you do!

* * *

--

**Frienemy**

"Am I not destroying my enemies

when I make friends of them?"

-Abraham Lincoln

--

* * *

"For your lab work, you will paired into lab partners with whom you will share all failures, and triumphs."

Naruto was one of those who cheered at the fact that they would not be failing alone. God knows he needed all the help he could get! He started thinking on possible partners...

Kiba? Or maybe even Shikamaru...

Naruto shuddered. As long as Sakura stayed far away in the other side of the field, he could care no less as to whom he would be paired with. Well, maybe just a little.

"As I call your name, go to your seat that is assigned for your group number. You will be sitting with your lab partners from now on."

Kiba muttered something under his breath. Naruto didn't even bother to look at him questioningly as the teacher started calling on names.

"Taro and Keinichi."

The two boys looked at each other and smiled warily, moving up sluggishly towards table number 1. The science laboratory was a peculiar shaped room with ten large, tiled tables situated strategically around the room. Each table would occupy two pairs and was equipped with a metal sink and two cabinets per pair respectively. Tall shelves and cabinets furnished the slightly sterile-smelling room, which exhibited preserved bats and intestines. Kiba nearly fainted when he spotted the body of a puppy floating in a jar. Naruto didn't even want to know what was inside the locked cabinets.

"Yuzaku and Totoro." also ended up in table 1 while "Tai and Amano" were the first pair to table 2. Naruto watched as one by one, pairs were called out. He crossed his fingers and wished for either Kiba, Shikamaru, or even Gaara to be his partner.

"Inuzuka and Sabaku."

Naruto choked on his saliva as Kiba bolted from his seat.

"NO!"

Some people stuffed their fists into their mouths to refrain from laughing while some fought to keep their face straight. The teacher looked up curiously from her list and blinked at a stricken Kiba.

"Is there a problem, Inuzuka-san?"

Kiba was already an unhealthy shade of oatmeal. "Why am I paired with Gaara? Can't I be paired with Naruto instead??"

The teacher shook her head. "I'm sorry. The pairing is final. Don't worry, Inuzuka-san," she continued. "The lab partners were carefully considered by your administrators as to bring out your full potential."

Kiba laughed nervously. "The admin hates me. They still haven't forgotten that time I blew up their toilet seat."

The teacher blinked, being obviously new and still oblivious to the history of the faculty lounge. "Er- well, the pairings are final." She finished lamely.

Kiba sank in his seat, as it dawned on him he had no way out. "I'm gonna die." He whispered strickenly, as he dropped his head on the table. "Please kill me now." He pleaded to Naruto.

Naruto couldn't control his laughter anymore. He managed to spare a glance at Gaara, who was still looking out the window uninterestingly.

"Don't worry, Kiba." Naruto choked on his laughter, patting the boy encouragingly on the back. "I'll mourn for you."

It took a few seconds for the boy to register his comment.

"Go fuck yourself." Kiba muttered.

"Nara and Haruno."

Naruto's smile quickly disappeared and he sat up straighter. Oh no... Poor Shikamaru!

"Who?" Sakura loudly asked, glancing around the mixed expressions of the class.

Naruto watched as Shikamaru lazily stood up and sidled over to table number 7 and sat down, promptly going back to sleep. It took the girl a while to realize exactly who was her partner- and she wasn't pleased.

"How am I supposed to pass this subject if my partner is practically dead?" Sakura complained to the teacher.

Poor woman already had a headache and started to regret pursuing a teaching career. "I'm sure Nara-san will be a wonderful lab partner-"

"I demand we change lab partners." Sakura primly interrupted her. "Or my father will hear about this."

Naruto silently wondered if the teacher even knew her father existed.

"Well, Miss Haruno..." the teacher slowly began. "I'll try to talk to the administrators about this, but for the mean time Nara-san will be your lab partner."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kiba suddenly came back to life and started waving his arms wildly. "Talk to them about me too!"

"That's not possible Inuzuka-san-"

"Why the fuck not?!"

"Language, Inuzuka-san..."

Suddenly, Gaara stood up and leveled the teacher with a glare. The class watched on silently as the red head marched towards table 6 and sat down stiffly. Kiba paled and took this as a signal by the redhead to follow suit. Resigned to his fate, the boy shuffled over beside Gaara and sat down without further fuss, but kept a safe distance. Sakura sniffed haughtily and made her way over to Shikamaru's sleeping side.

"Only for today." Sakura reminded the teacher.

Naruto scratched his head. With the way things were going, he had a very (very) bad feeling that fate was laughing at them and had a nagging suspicion who his partner will turn out to be.

"Uchiha, Uzumaki."

Naruto closed his eyes in defeat.

"Someone up there hates me." He sighed, slowly getting to his feet.

He avoided the Uchiha's eyes as he made his way towards table 7 and sat down on the other side of Shikamaru. Naruto barely registered Sakura's excited squeal as the Uchiha approached- he was too busy trying to get Shikamaru to wake up from his sleep.

At last all the pairs had been called out and they were in their respective tables. The teacher, relieved that the ordeal was done and over with, turned to face the class once more.

"Alright class, as you can see you are seated by four in one table. Look around at each member, they will be your CLG group for the rest of the year."

There was another rise of protest, relief and squeals of delight. Naruto was half pleased and yet half miserable that Shikamaru was in his group- who was incidentally Sakura's lab partner. Said girl was over herself with glee that Sasuke was part of her group and started to formulate plans to get him alone and to herself.

Sasuke pointedly ignored the girl fawning over him and stared straight ahead. The teacher waited till the din had died down before passing out sheets of paper.

"These are lab information sheets." The teacher explained. "Please answer them by lab partners. On the other side of the paper is a checklist of the apparatus available in your lab stations. If you would notice on the cabinets under your table..."

Naruto gave up on waking Shikamaru and instead curiously opened the cabinet under their side of the table. Indeed, all sorts of apparatus lay clean and untouched inside, and Naruto gazed at them in awe. His former school never had enough money to provide the students with such apparatus... It was exciting.

"Dobe..."

Naruto paused, his hand gripping the cabinet handle. He took a quick breath to quickly steel himself and looked up, still avoiding the Uchiha's eyes.

"Yeah?"

Sasuke looked at him silently but didn't say anything. He waved the paper to the blonde and gestured for him to sit back up. Naruto reluctantly closed the cabinet door and slowly sat back.

"It's a data sheet." Sasuke scanned the paper, flipping it over to one side. "I'll write."

Naruto shrugged. Whatever. He saw in the corner of his eye that neither Sakura nor Shikamaru was doing the sheet- said boy was still stubbornly sleeping, while Sakura was chatting up Ino from the table number 8.

Naruto cocked his head and peered over Sasuke's shoulder to read the words on the paper.

"CLG group..." Naruto murmured, watching as Sasuke neatly wrote a '7' on the blank. "Lab partner #14..."

Sasuke ignored him and continued to write their names on the blanks provided. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke... 1-D...

Age... 17... Gender... Male... Blood type... Sasuke looked expectantly at Naruto.

"B." the blonde supplied.

Hn... Parents... Sasuke looked up once again.

"None." Naruto coolly shrugged.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something but closed his mouth and left the space blank. He continued to write his own data.

"Address?" Sasuke quietly asked, eyeing Naruto.

The blonde sighed. "214 Moonwalk Boulevard, Konoha." He mumbled.

Sasuke put down his pen.

"We have to talk."

Naruto had dreaded this moment. "No, we don't."

"What was that yesterday?"

"What was what?" Naruto stalled.

Sasuke stared at him. "Was that why you didn't want me to know where you live?"

He struck a nerve. Naruto kept his glare level and fisted his hands firmly on his lap. "It's none of your business, Uchiha. I hope you know. I wish you'd stick your busy nose into someone else's business."

"Was she the one who hit you?"

Naruto swallowed his retort. "Excuse me?"

Sasuke's face was unreadable. "I said, was she the one who hit you?"

"No." Naruto snapped. At least, not exactly anyway.

Sasuke looked at him calculatingly for a while. Finally he sighed.

"I won't force you to tell me these things, Usuratonkachi." He said. "But I wont let her keep hurting you either."

Naruto was staring at him confusedly. "What?"

"I'm not blind, dobe." Sasuke snapped. "I see how she looks at you, how she treats you. You can't blame me for thinking that way."

"Why do you care?" It wasn't accusing, but genuinely curious.

Sasuke paused. "I don't know."

Really, he didn't.

Naruto snorted. "Wow. I'm impressed."

"Shut up."

Naruto quietly sighed in relief as the Uchiha returned to answering the data sheet without further fuss. He was slightly surprised that he got off easy. (Oh, if only…) Not that he was glad that the Uchiha wasn't pressing questions- he was. Thankfully, the scene he was envisioning did not come true.

Last night, he couldn't sleep.

He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to think of a way to get out of the mess Sakura had so thoughtfully made for him. But he was screwed. Royally. And Naruto paled at the different scenarios that played through his head come the following morning. Was the Uchiha going to tell the class? The whole school? Was his short fantasy of having friends about to end soon? Or would Sasuke use the information to his advantage- blackmail maybe? It was horrible, horrible thoughts.

And yet...

Naruto glanced sideways at the Uchiha who was narrowing his eyes on the set of questions.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all...

"What kind of fucked up question are these?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto dragged the sheet over so he could read the questions. "Do you have any sort of warts on any part of your body?"

Naruto snorted. "Were we supposed to laugh?"

"Well, I forgot to." Sasuke darkly muttered.

Naruto stifled a snigger and picked up the pen. "Yes. All over." He wrote.

Sasuke read his answer and snorted.

"Next question... Are you allergic to any metallic substances?" Naruto snickered. "You bet." He replied.

"Figures you would answer stupid questions." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Hey!"

"Finish up on your checklist, students!" the teacher called out from the front of the room. "Make sure the apparatus' in your working stations aren't broken and in proper working condition!"

Naruto abandoned the sheet and excitedly opened the cabinet door. "Hey, neat! They've got multi-colored test tubes!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke grumbled something about its uselessness and proceeded to scan the said checklist and ticked off test tubes.

"Two microscopes." Sasuke read.

"Check!" Naruto chirruped from below him, touching the two, sleek, black apparatus.

"Erlenmeyer and Florence flasks."

"Check. Check."

"Evaporating and Petre dish."

"Uh... which is which?"

Sasuke heard something tinkering from below. He ignored Naruto's startled 'eep!' and ticked the two off the list. "Tongs?"

* * *

RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!!

"Alright, class! That's it for today! Clean up your working areas and you can leave!"

Naruto cheered with the rest of the class and quickly slammed the apparatus cabinet door shut, locking it with a key and tossing it over to the key rack. He started fixing his bag.

"Hey Kiba!" Naruto started to call out, glancing over at table six.

The boy was nowhere to be seen. Gaara was gone as well. Naruto shrugged and noticed that Shikamaru had likewise disappeared. The blonde edged uneasily away as Sakura launched herself at Sasuke once again. He decided it was safer to leave. He slipped out of the lab trying not to snicker at Sasuke's annoyed look- and failed miserably.

"I think I'll go pass by Ichiraku's." Naruto decided. "Nothing better than a bowl of hot, steaming ramen!"

Instantly cheered up, the blonde hurried out of the campus, intent on getting his ramen. The streets were looking more and more familiar now, and Naruto had no problem making his way through Konoha. Once or twice, he had to retrace his steps, but it was no big. He was so engrossed with thoughts about his steaming bowl of Miso ramen that he did not notice the shadow in front of him till he rammed into someone and stumbled back on his ass.

"Hey!" Naruto glared up at the familiar red head. "Racoon-boy! What's the big idea?"

Gaara silently offered a hand and helped Naruto stand. The blonde huffed. "Geez, you're scary man. Do you make a habit of skulking out of the shadows like that?"

Gaara shrugged.

"Oh, so it's back to silent mode, is it?" Naruto grinned. "Tell me, does a certain Inuzuka Kiba have something to do with that?"

Gaara immediately scowled. "I don't want to hear it."

"Oh but I do." Naruto snickered, walking over to Ichiraku's and pushed back the flops to enter. "Ne, Oji-san! Two miso ramen!"

"Right-o!"

Naruto flopped into the bench and motioned to Gaara to sit. "Was it really that bad?"

Gaara looked at him stonily. "He wouldn't shut up."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, but neither would I."

Gaara remained stonily silent.

"He probably talks to fill the silence since you obviously won't do it." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Poor Kiba."

Gaara's eye twitched. "I thought I was the victim here."

Naruto was sorely amused at the slightly accusing tone underlying his statement. If he didn't know better, he'd say Gaara was whining.

"Is that why you're here now, bugging me?" Naruto grinned up at the kind-faced oji-san as he plunked down their two bowls of steaming ramen. "Thanks ojisan."

"No problem, Naruto." The man grinned. For those two weeks Naruto had been coming to Ichirakus, he was now his best customer.

"What is this?"

Naruto spared a glance at Gaara whilst stuffing his face with the heavenly ramen. The redhead was staring down at his steaming bowl with a mixture of curiosity and disgust. Naruto swallowed before poking the boy with his chopsticks.

"Ramen! The best kind there is!" Naruto beamed. "Don't tell me you haven't had ramen before!"

Gaara sent a withering gaze to the blonde.

"Oh, go on." Naruto encouraged. "It's good."

Gaara reluctantly picked up his chopsticks and twirled a noodle. He eyed Naruto's eager face warily.

"Must you stare at me like that?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, going back to his own bowl. "Fussy git."

The red head finally stalled enough and ate. He chewed calculatingly for a while. He shrugged at Naruto's inquiring gaze and spooned out some soup. "It's tolerable."

"There's hope for you yet!" Naruto sarcastically said, slurping up his soup. "Ahh..."

A comfortable silence fell as the two boys ate- or rather, Naruto ate while Gaara just... poked at his food.

"Uchiha's your lab partner." It wasn't a question.

Naruto paused in his eating. He glanced at Gaara thoughtfully and put down his chopsticks. And so it unfolds...

"Is _that _why you came to bug me?" Naruto echoed the same question not ten minutes ago.

Gaara frowned. "You aren't bothered?"

"Of course I am." Naruto gave him an incredulous look. "But what's that got to do with anything?"

"..."

Naruto made a huffing noise and went back to his ramen. "You know, it wouldn't hurt to just TELL me what's the matter."

Gaara's chopsticks broke in half.

Naruto's head snapped up in surprise. Gaara was staring at the broken sticks in his hands. It was then Naruto figured something really was wrong.

"Hey man..." Naruto vaguely poked him on the arm. "Are you okay?"

"I just hate it that I can't protect you." Gaara mumbled.

Naruto did a double take.

"What? Where did this come from?" Naruto shook his head. "You don't have to 'protect' me, Gaara. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

Gaara fixed his green eyes on him. "The first person I actually feel that can understand me," he whispered harshly. "...I must protect- even with my life."

Naruto stared at him.

"I have no purpose. No drive." Gaara continued, looking down at his hand clenching and unclenching. "But now I think I do. I will not disappear. My existence will not disappear."

"Gaara..."

"Do you... understand?" Gaara looked up- a little afraid, at Naruto.

Naruto felt his heart break a little. He swallowed, opening his arms to the redhead. Gaara just stared at him but Naruto took him into his arms.

"I understand." The blonde murmured. "You won't disappear, Gaara. I won't let you."

Gaara was tense in his arms, but relaxed at the blonde's words. It was the first time someone ever hugged him... It felt nice.

"I will protect you." Gaara swore in all seriousness.

Naruto let him go and sat back to look at him. "Sure you will." He said. "But Gaara... you don't need to worry about Sasuke. He's harmless."

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "You mean powerless."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, that too."

Gaara shrugged. "I know my captain, Naruto. He doesn't take particular interest on anyone."

"Yeah."

"Except you." Gaara frowned at him. "It is strange."

Naruto sighed, frustrated. "Great, I'm special."

Gaara stood up and laid out a twenty, ignoring Naruto's protest. "I'll walk you home."

"But you haven't finished your food!" Naruto protested, shocked.

Gaara looked at him witheringly. "So I have."

"You wasteful bugger." Naruto grumbled, picking up his own bowl and downing it in one gulp. "Ah!"

Gaara stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "Are you done?"

"Yes, oh high prince of raccoon-ness!" Naruto laughed, picking up his bag.

They stepped outside.

"Thanks for the meal, man." Naruto grinned at him. "But I'll have to decline your offer on walking me home."

Gaara frowned. "It wasn't an offer."

"Well, I'm still declining it." Naruto shrugged. "I can go home by myself you know."

Gaara remained quiet.

Naruto slapped him on the back. "Don't work yourself over this, buddy. See you tomorrow, 'kay?"

Naruto started to walk away. Gaara grabbed his sleeve. The blonde looked back at him expectantly. Gaara hesitated.

"Be careful."

Naruto's face broke into a grin. "Sure thing, man. You take care too." The blonde, in a moment of unsuppressed glee, reached out and kissed the redhead on the cheek.

"Ja."

Naruto turned and ran. Gaara just stood there blinking, not really registering what happened. Shrugging his shoulders and deciding the blonde was just naturally strange, Gaara turned around and headed back to his place. His mood started to darken considerably...

Naruto skipped along the corner street leading to Mongolian Avenue, feeling cheerful enough to hum a tuneless song.

"Today's gonna be the day that I'm gonna give it back to you..." Naruto sang to himself.

He paused and looked around warily for crazy drivers before crossing the street. He rounded the corner leading to Moonwalk Boulevard when he slammed into another body for the second time that day.

"Ooh..." Naruto grumbled, rubbing his ass. "This really has got to stop."

He looked up to apologize to whomever he had slammed into when he realized this face was once again increasingly familiar.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto blurted out.

Sasuke scowled at him. "I live here."

Naruto gaped. "We're neighbors?!"

"Not exactly." Sasuke shrugged, helping the blonde to his feet. "I live a few blocks away."

"Oh."

Naruto brushed down his pants and readjusted the strap of his bag. He coughed uncomfortably. "Well... I'll just be going then."

Naruto was moving away when Sasuke fell into step with him. The blonde sighed.

"What now?"

"I'm walking this way too you know." Sasuke retorted.

"Well, must you really walk so close?" Naruto griped.

"Yes."

"Asshole."

"Thank you."

Naruto decided arguing with the boy would be stupidly pointless so decided to ignore him. The walk was passed on in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

Once again, the familiar black gates made itself known and Naruto started to move towards it, not even bidding the Uchiha goodbye.

"Wait."

Naruto paused from unlocking the gate and looked back expectantly at the Uchiha. "What?"

Naruto was morbidly fascinated at the uncomfortable look crossing the Uchiha's usually calm features. Sasuke reached into his pocket and tossed a box towards the blonde.

It was merely with reflexes that Naruto managed to catch the small box. "Hey!" he blinked at the small package. "What's this?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You'll see."

With that he turned around and walked away.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at him. "Self important bastard!"

He shook the small package in his hand but couldn't make out the sounds from inside. Shrugging, he stuffed it into his pocket and headed into the house. Immediately, he was assaulted by the loud voice of the cook.

"BRAT! Help out in the kitchen!"

Naruto cringed.

Closing the door behind him, he was greeted with the angry face of the cook. His already frightening demeanor looked more menacing with the beheaded fish he held in his right hand and the gutter he held in his left. The blonde gulped.

"Um, I'll just go change-"

"You will do no such thing." The man roared. "Do you know what time it is? The Haruno's will be having guests this evening you brat, or did you forget?!"

Naruto inwardly groaned. He did forget.

"I'm sorry."

The cook was not a bad man. Really, he wasn't. But Naruto found that he could not find it in himself to say this when the man was angry. He swallowed his pained cry as the large hand struck on his cheek, directly opposite his already bruised one.

"Hurry boy, and get to work." The man impatiently said, stalking back to the kitchen.

Naruto sighed and gingerly checked his swollen cheek. He winced. Hopefully, it wouldn't mark... but somehow, he doubted that. He jumped at the Cook's impatient yell for him and quickly slipped off his bag and crisp, white uniform top and stuffed them into a nearby closet. Deftly, he picked at the faded shirt he wore underneath. It would have to do. He practically ran into the kitchen, fearing another slap from the man. It wouldn't be good to have several more bruises to sport the next day. Gaara would throw a fit.

And so would another certain individual, Naruto distractedly murmured as an afterthought.

* * *

Naruto threw himself onto his bed with a tired sigh. He was exhausted.

The expected guests reached up to twenty individuals- no wonder the Cook looked so frazzled. Naruto looked blearily at the glow-in-the-dark hands of his clock and sighed as it read 1: 30. No homework for him today. It wouldn't be the first time.

He forced himself to get out of bed to pull off his shoes and gather his blankets. as he was about to settle himself for some much deserved sleep, he suddenly caught sight of the box sitting innocently by his bag. He paused.

The shiny paper of the package glowed surreally, reflecting the moonlight from the window. Naruto hesitated, but decided that his curiosity wouldn't let him be and slowly got up to reach for it. He sat up and turned the box over in his hands. Briefly, he wondered to himself why the Uchiha would be giving him something. His feet were cold on the bare floor and he crossed his legs to warm them. He turned it over once again. Maybe it was a practical joke? He shook the box warily.

"To do, or not to do... that is the question." Naruto lamely said, stalling.

Slowly, he tore off the shiny paper wrapping the box and held up the plain cardboard box up to the meager light in the room. It LOOKED harmless enough.

He slowly opened the lid of the box, steeling himself for the worst case scenario and preparing to drop the box whenever necessary... He pushed aside the tissue paper, trying not to make too much noise and peeked inside.

He DID drop the box.

Naruto gasped and stared incredulously at the box that had fallen to the floor from his numb fingers.

Inside, laying innocently in tissue paper was the tacky, green frog purse he had been staring longingly at the window by the store downtown.

"It can't be."


	13. Courage

--

**Courage**

"You can always die...

It's living that takes courage."

-Himura Kenshin.

--

* * *

Naruto walked along the large campus of Konoha high, not entirely sure of what was going on. He quickly jumped out of the way as a large fish head jostled its way past him, carried by the wobbly hands of several seniors. He stared after it as the dopey, sluggishly painted face of the carp (?) bobbed up and down, as if mocking him for his lack of knowledge.

"What's going on?" Naruto murmured to himself.

He purposely slowed down his pace as he surveyed the area, where busy students were putting up tables and tents. Some people were looking particularly harassed and Naruto took careful measures to stay out of their way.

"I want that table over there... No, over THERE you dolt!"

The blonde jumped as the girl's voice carried over to him as she screamed at the unsuspecting student who was carrying said table. She earned the blonde's grudging respect as the boy (who was probably from the judo team with this size) quickly hurried about to do her bidding.

Flags were put up and streamers rained down from the balconies... Naruto squinted his eyes to make out the words, but he couldn't piece together what "Choose Wisely!" or "Be there or be Square!" were trying to say.

"Hyuuga-san, I need you to sign these..."

Naruto turned around as he heard the familiar name. He quickly spotted the longhaired boy, who was currently nodding at a chatty junior. He began signing mechanically on the sheets of paper he was presented with.

"And here... and here..." the junior cheerfully pointed at the lines. "One more here... and over there... and here..."

Neji started to look annoyed. "What did you say this was for again?"

"For The Big Show." The boy replied pompously. "You know, the one the drama club is having for the fair..." he leaned in as if in a conspiracy. "You didn't hear it from me- but there's going to be this INTENSE make out scene with Yukihiko and Ten-Ten... it's supposed to attract more people to join the club."

Neji kept a cool face. "I see. You do realize who I am, right?"

"Of course." The boy said cheerfully. "You're Hyuuga Neji, the SC presi- SHIT!"

"Yes, that." Neji calmly took the folder holding the many (many) signed papers from the boy's frozen fingers. "Thank you for the information, Mutou-san. You best tell Yukihiko and the rest of your club to sharpen things up. The SC president will be watching your astounding performance. Good day."

Neji sidestepped the now very pale boy- who was all too aware of the subtle threat/warning he had received- and walked towards a still openly watching Naruto.

"You can wipe that drool off your face now."

Naruto blinked at Neji's amused look, and swiped at his mouth reflexively. He frowned at him.

"Neji, what's going on? Why are there colorful slogans and floating fish heads running about today?"

Neji cocked his head at him. "Weren't you aware? Tomorrow is the Club Fair."

Naruto blinked. "It is?"

"It is." Neji affirmed. "Have you decided what club you are going to get, Naruto?"

Naruto suddenly panicked. "No! Actually- I don't- I've never-"

"You still haven't decided?" Neji furrowed his brows. "Not even an idea?"

Naruto shamefully bowed his head. "No."

Neji cupped his chin with his fingers, deep in thought. "Hm, well that's a problem. The club you would be joining will be the one you will be in for the entire year."

"Uh, well... Can I just not join a club?" Naruto hopefully asked.

"No, that is not possible." Neji hid a smile. "It's required, you see. Anyway, maybe I can help you... What are your interests?"

Naruto paused. What WERE his interests?

"Well, uh..." he stammered. "Um, I know how to... uh, clean..."

Neji stared at him.

Naruto blushed, quickly looking away. Stupid! His mind screamed at him. What kind of answer was that?!

"That's very admirable." Neji finally said, his lips curving up into an amused smile. "Most people hate cleaning. I myself am a neat freak."

Naruto managed a watery smile. "It shows."

"Well, I'm pretty sure there isn't a club that fits your liking." Neji lightly said. "What else do you enjoy doing? Can you sing?"

"Only in the showers." Naruto glumly muttered.

Neji swallowed his chuckle. "Dance?"

"I have no sense of rhythm whatsoever."

Neji 'hm'ed and checked the list of clubs he had in his folder. "Well, are you into sports?"

Naruto paused.

"No..." he replied vaguely.

Neji's hand froze over his folder and he turned pearly gray eyes on the blonde. "...Do you play soccer?" he slowly asked.

Naruto quickly looked away. "Uh..."

Neji calmly flipped the pages of his list. "Well, if you're interested, you can ask the Uchiha for a tryout. He's the captain of the soccer team."

Naruto stiffened. "No. I'd rather not."

"Well, why don't you think about it?" Neji said, his face betraying no emotions. "Gaara is in the soccer team as well."

Naruto blinked incredulously. "How did those two survive in the same team until now?!"

"Well," Neji said slowly. "They've never had any problems with each other before. Sabaku respected the Uchiha as a captain, and vice versa."

"Then why do they keep going at each other's throats?" Naruto asked, honestly confused.

Neji fixed his eyes on the blonde. "They never had anything to fight over before."

Naruto fell silent.

"Anyway," Neji continued, saving the blonde from the awkwardness. "You can consider going to sports, or you can join the extracurricular clubs... like the Art club."

Naruto perked up. "Do they have a cooking club?"

Neji nodded. "Yes, it's called Creative Cookery." He checked his list. "They have a screening." He confirmed, reading his list. "Why don't you give it a shot tomorrow?"

"Yeah, maybe I will." Naruto nodded happily. "But," his smile slowly faded. "...what if I don't know anyone there?"

"It's a good way to make new acquaintances."

Naruto looked at him skeptically. "If you say so."

"Hyuuga-san!" a boy called from the tent area. "Where do you want these posters hung?"

Neji lifted through the pages of his list once again. "Put them on counter number three." He told the boy. "The rest of them, you can give to Yuta-san from 3-A."

"Right-o."

Neji turned back to Naruto. "Come then, I'll walk you to your classroom."

Naruto hurriedly declined. "Nah! I can go on my own thanks. Besides, I don't want to bother you. You seem really busy."

"Nonsense. I'll walk you there." Neji insisted.

"No, it's really fine." Naruto shook his head. "Thanks for the offer Neji, but I'm alright. You go on and kick ass."

Neji wanted very much to say that he simply wanted to walk Naruto to his room, but refrained from opening his mouth. "If so you wish."

"Bye then." Naruto turned to leave.

"Oh, and Naruto..."

"Hm?"

Neji gazed at him for a while. "Watch where you walk into from now on." He slowly said. "You have another bruise."

Naruto's eyes widened, his hand immediately going up to his bruised cheek where the cook hit him yesterday. He suddenly felt nervous.

"Uh, yeah. Will do."

Neji nodded. "Have a good day, Naruto."

Naruto nodded numbly. "You too."

Rats.

* * *

"Ow! Kiba!"

Naruto impatiently elbowed Kiba to get at his locker. The boy simply refused to budge.

"Get out of the way!" Naruto snapped. "I have to get dressed!"

"Not until you tell me where the hell you keep getting those bruises." Kiba stubbornly said.

"I told you," Naruto sighed. "I crashed outta bed this morning. Now, get your large ass out of the way so I can get to my locker."

"I don't believe you." Kiba crossed his arms.

"That's your problem, not mine."

Kiba scowled at him, finally stepping away. "What the hell, Naruto? I just want to help you beat them back up!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto declared.

Kiba grumbled. "One of these days..."

Naruto decidedly ignored him, concentrating instead on his locker number. It refused to open. He banged impatiently on it.

"Argh, stupid, worthless piece of junk."

Kiba snorted beside him, his own OPEN locker mocking Naruto as he rummaged inside it. Naruto glared at his locker, as if willing it to miraculously unlock itself.

Out of nowhere, a pale hand reached over and slammed at the locker door, making Naruto jump. Frustratingly, the locker popped open. The blonde looked up at the rolling eyes of the redhead.

"Baka."

"Speak for yourself." Naruto retorted, hastily stuffing his bag inside and grabbing his gym shirt.

Gaara was already dressed in his gym clothes- navy blue jogging shorts and a white shirt bearing the school logo. Naruto silently wondered how the red head manage to dress so quickly and remain unnoticed.

Naruto put on his shorts and was about to pull of his shirt but paused. He glanced up at Gaara who was still steadily looking at him.

"Do you mind?" Naruto looked at him pointedly.

Gaara narrowed his eyes but turned around compliantly. "As if there's anything to see." He mumbled.

"Hey!" Naruto protested, his voice muffled by his shirt. He quickly slipped on his gym shirt. "I'll have you know I'm quite fit!"

"Whatever."

Kiba made a sound in his throat. Naruto glared at him and was about to open his mouth to offer a cough drop, when a loud 'FUCK!' echoed across the room.

A split second after, there was an uproar upfront as the pink form of Sakura appeared by the doorway.

"Shit!"

"What the fuck is a girl doing here?!"

Guys hurriedly scrambled to cover themselves, and those unfortunate enough to be in her line of sight quickly ran for cover. More than one angry yells greeted her.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called out, ignoring the annoyed cries of the boys.

"Hey Haruno!" a boy called out rudely. "Are you really that desperate for a peek?!"

Sakura glared at him. "I'm here to see Sasuke-kun." She snapped.

"Well too bad you aren't not allowed in here!" Kiba snapped back. Naruto had long hidden himself behind Gaara in utter shame. Why did God forsake him and made them relatives anyway?!

Sakura had the gall to look angry. "Mind your own business! I just want Sasuke-kun!"

"Hey Uchiha!" Kiba called out, his gaze sweeping around the room in search of the dark haired boy. "Your crazy girlfriend's here to see you."

Naruto's grip on Gaara tightened. Gaara glanced over at him. The blonde quickly let go. "Sorry."

"She's not my girlfriend." Sasuke's stony voice replied as he emerged from the back. "Haruno, get out. You're making a scene."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Sasuke-kun!" she said happily, actually stepping into the room despite the heated glare of the Uchiha.

"I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get to speak to you later on, so I came over just to look for you!" she informed him, smiling. "Since this is the last class, I figured you would be too busy if I tried to talk to you after. I didn't want to disturb any plans you have. Aren't I thoughtful?"

Kiba made a gagging noise from behind. Naruto sank even deeper into the shadows, covering his face in shame.

"You are disturbing everyone this very moment." Sasuke snapped. "Not only are we blessed by your ungodly presence, we have to endure your psychotic nature while we freeze our ass to death. Go away so we can dress in peace."

Sakura didn't seem to hear him. She stepped even closer. "So, Sasuke-kun? Tomorrow's the club fair, isn't it? Do you want to go out for lunch after school?"

Naruto peered over Gaara's shoulder curiously. Sakura was asking for a date? With Sasuke?

"No."

Sakura pouted. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun! It's going to be my treat."

Sasuke felt insulted that she considered money to be a problem for him, but did not grace her with a retort.

"No." he repeated stonily. "Not if you were the last godforsaken person on earth."

"Why not?" Sakura whined.

"Because you're annoying."

Sasuke grimaced as tears sparkled in her eyes. Gah. Who wants an actor's tears?!

"Sasuke-kun is so mean!" she whimpered. "If you weren't interested in me, you should have said so from the start!"

Sasuke looked exasperated. "You just can't take a hint, can you, Haruno?"

"Meanie!" Sakura cried. "You've been playing with me right from the start!"

Sobbing, she turned tails and ran out of the room.

The room burst into catcalls and whistles as a few brave souls clapped the stony Uchiha on the shoulder.

"Way to go, lover boy!"

"What a drama!"

Kiba was laughing so hard he had to hold on to his locker for support.

"D-did you s-see her face?!" he wheezed. "God! That was the best comedy act I've ever seen!"

"It wasn't supposed to be comedy." Gaara muttered.

Kiba immediately shut up.

Gaara turned to look at Naruto, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

"What's the matter with you?"

Naruto's expression turned troubled as he gazed at where Sakura had stood just a few minutes ago. "Nothing..."

Gaara didn't believe him.

Naruto turned around and stuffed his clothes back to his bag, his mind still deep in thought. He absently flicked nonexistent mothballs on his gym towel as he contemplated, staring at his locker wall.

No one could fathom what was troubling the blonde, but Naruto was currently thinking how very afraid he was to see Sakura's tears at that moment.

Surely, her father would hear about it... And surely... Surely...

The blonde unconsciously touched his gauzed cheek. He was pained to admit that he was terrified to go home today... Not if he wanted to risk another-

"Naruto."

The blonde blinked. "Huh?"

Gaara was staring at him. "We have to go now."

Naruto looked around and realized that the room was now empty- his classmates already out in the field.

"Yeesh! You could have told me earlier!" Naruto cried, quickly slamming his locker shut and scrambling towards the exit.

Gaara glared at him. "You were too busy spacing out."

"I was not!"

* * *

"All right, gather up!"

Naruto gasped, kneeling on the ground, desperately trying to catch his breath. Kiba was lying like a dead man a few feet back, while Shikamaru (that bastard!) hadn't even had to break a sweat. How he managed to excuse himself from running will forever be a mystery to all students of Konoha high. Some people were looking almost longingly over at the girl's side of the field, where they were seated primly on the bleachers listening to their instructor explaining something about the rules of a game. They were NOT suffering under the scorching sun or the even more blinding 'shakking!' of Gai's abnormally shiny teeth. Gender discrimination right there!

"Good job, everyone!" the over exultant voice of Gai boomed across the grassy field. "That's ten laps tops! Get up, get up! We still have lots to do!"

Naruto wanted very much to follow Kiba's lead and pretend to be dead, but Gai had caught his eye and was ushering him to 'get up! get up!'.

"All right, for today, we will be tackling ball sports. Particularly, soccer!" Gai grinned at the moaning faces of his students. "I realize that Uchiha is in this class? Uchiha, where are you?"

Sasuke stepped out and walked over to him, and Naruto cursed him for all he was worth. The bastard wasn't even out of breath.

"All right, you'll be my personal helper for today." Gai winked at him, as if this was the greatest honor that could befall anyone.

Sasuke stared back at him stonily.

"So," Gai rubbed his hands eagerly. "Who here enjoys playing soccer?"

Almost half of the class raised their hands. Naruto refused to raise his.

"Wonderful!" he grinned, making the people within fifty-mile radius from him flinch. "This makes our lesson easier! So I take it pretty much everyone know the basics- passing, dribbling, yes?"

A few collective nods.

"Good!"

Naruto slumped down to the ground and listened to Gai rant about the joys of soccer in autopilot. He barely registered Gaara dropping beside him, his mind too muddled with the lack of oxygen and H2O.

"SO! That's about it for my crash course!" Gai clapped his hands eagerly. "Any questions? No? Okay! Let's go!"

Naruto groaned but stood up compliantly, muttering about green spandex and bowl shaped hair cut. He blinked. Come to think of it, it actually fitted the description of a certain Rock Lee...

Naruto had a sudden flash of the exuberant boy in his mind in his 'nice guy' pose and visibly shuddered. The resemblance was uncanny. Why hadn't he noticed before? He was too deep in thought he hadn't noticed anyone approaching.

He couldn't stop the shriek that ripped out his mouth when a freakishly cold SOMETHING came contact with his too-warm skin. He turned to yell at whoever had the balls to scare the pants off him and was greeted by a cold bottle of 'Mountain Fresh' ("Cools you down!") mineral water. The surprise rendered the blonde staring dumbly at the bottle for quite a while.

"Are you going to take it, or not? Dobe."

Naruto gaped, his mind still refusing to function properly. Of course it wouldn't! It was the Uchiha- in all his sweatpants glory- offering him a cold bottle of Mountain fresh water. Naruto was more horrified, however, at the blush now creeping his cheeks- the green, frog purse he had tucked safely away in his bag flashing through his mind.

"Uh..."

Sasuke sighed. He opened the cap of the bottle and handed it over to the blonde. "Drink up, dobe. You look dead on your feet."

Naruto screamed at his treacherous body as his blush deepened. He quickly grabbed the bottle and tossed it back, choking immediately after. Sasuke thumped on his back as the blonde coughed violently, his blushing still refusing to go away. He was a bit grateful however, that his coughing fit would sufficiently explain the redness in his cheeks.

"Usuratonkachi!" Sasuke snapped, annoyed. "I told you to drink, not choke yourself to death!"

Naruto regained enough composure to snap back a reply. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Right."

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably as silence fell on the pair. His mind unwillingly wandered back to the purse he had received just last night... Why had Sasuke given him that? Scratch that, how the hell did he know Naruto drooled over that purse anyway?? Sasuke was looking at him intently.

"What?" Naruto groused, still very much self-conscious.

Sasuke frowned at him. "Nothing."

"You two!" Gai's voice made Naruto jump a foot into the air. Sasuke merely looked up coolly.

"Come on and join the game!" Gai enthusiastically waved at them. "Uchiha, you team up with the blonde and join the blue team over there. Go on now, move, move, move!"

Naruto wrinkled his nose at him. "We're moving, we're moving." He mumbled.

Sasuke merely 'hn'ed a reply and moved towards the said team.

The game went underway, and it was obvious that the team division was an unfair one. Both Sasuke and Gaara were in the blue team, and the opposing team (red) couldn't even score a point and lost spectacularly.

Naruto quickly dribbled the ball over with his foot and passed it to Gaara, who was currently open at the moment. The red head wasted no time and put the ball through the goal without the goalie even realizing that the ball had already whizzed past him.

"Way to go!" Naruto cheered, grinning up at the redhead.

Gaara smirked up at him and Naruto stuck his tongue out playfully. Almost immediately after, the ball whizzed past him again and yet another spectacular goal was put through. Naruto gaped as the ball practically singed through the net. He turned around to acknowledge the scorer. Sasuke stood there, a smug smile on his otherwise cool expression as he shot Gaara a challenging glare.

Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"Wonderful shot, Uchiha!" Gai commented from the sidelines, admiring the still hissing net. "Very impressive."

Naruto couldn't help but grudgingly agree. So this was Konoha's Soccer teams' pride and joy.

"Uzumaki!"

Naruto turned around reflexively and caught the ball with his foot, dribbling it around experimentally. He did not waste any time and kicked as hard as he could, watching in satisfaction as the ball sailed across the field and shot through the goal without further complications.

"Whoo-hoo!" Kiba cheered, pumping his fist. Apparently, he had been the one who had passed the blonde the ball. "All right- SCORE!"

Naruto laughed as Kiba punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"You didn't tell me you knew how to kick balls, Uzumaki!" Kiba grinned at him. "Do we see a closet athlete here?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, just got lucky."

Gai's whistle signaled the end of the game, and- not surprisingly, the blue team was declared the winner, winning 12 to 0. It wasn't even a match, so to speak. Naruto chatted amiably with Kiba as they made their way towards the lockers, eager to change out of their sweaty gym clothes.

"That Gai-sensei is a monster." Kiba laughed with Naruto. "Did you even manage the ten laps? I thought I was going to die!"

"Dobe."

Naruto blinked as Sasuke walked over to him, an unreadable light in his eyes. Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked at him expectantly.

"What do you want? And stop calling me dobe!"

Kiba fell silent beside him and yanked on Naruto's shirt in a silent warning not to piss off the Uchiha. As usual, the blonde didn't give a fuck.

"Do you play soccer?"

Naruto was thrown off balance for a split second. "What?"

Sasuke sighed impatiently. "I wish you'd stop making me repeat myself. I said, do you play soccer?"

Naruto looked at him indignantly. "I would, as soon as you'd stop asking me random questions and rocking the world outta me. And what the heck is it to you if I play soccer or not?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "I rock your world?"

"Stop putting words in my mouth, Uchiha." Naruto snapped, refusing to look up to Sasuke's smirking face. "And wipe that smirk off your face."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll wipe it off for you." Naruto threatened.

Sasuke's smirk broadened. "You can try."

Naruto sighed exasperatedly. "Whatever, teme. I've had enough of you messing with my mind. Come on, Kiba."

Naruto turned to leave once again.

"Try out for the soccer team."

And yet once again, to be fair, Naruto was shocked out of his system.

"What?!"

"I told you not to make me repeat myself. Usuratonkachi."

"And I told you to stop shocking the hell outta me!" Naruto snapped back. "What the hell is up with that?!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Your play wasn't all that bad. Maybe you should think of trying out. You might just make it in."

Naruto scowled at him. "Not if you went down on your knees and begged for it, bastard. Joining the soccer team with YOU as the captain would be like- suicide and an early train crash to hell."

Kiba made a strangled sound beside him. Naruto absently swatted the hand incessantly yanking at his sleeve.

"What, Kiba?!" Naruto finally snapped, looking at him exasperatedly.

"Excuse us for a sec." Kiba muttered, before dragging the blonde over to a secluded spot behind the bushes.

"What's the big idea?" Naruto hissed.

"Are you out of your rocker, or something?!" Kiba hissed back. "The CAPTAIN of the soccer team just asked you to try out for the team. How can you refuse it like that?!"

Naruto huffed. "So he's the captain. Big deal. He's still an asshole."

Kiba shook his head violently. "I don't think you understand the situation here. The soccer team is like- THE sports team that every guy and his brother want to get into! And just for the running, out of the hundreds that try out for the goddamn team, only ONE lucky bastard actually passes the Uchiha's standards."

Naruto blinked. "And so?"

"SO!" Kiba tore at his hair. "The very same ridiculously genius captain of the very same ridiculously spanking good soccer team is asking YOU- the blondest idiot I've ever seen in my entire sorry life, to try out, and implying you actually have a chance to pass!"

Naruto frowned.

"Did you try out for the soccer team, Kiba?" he asked suspiciously.

Kiba had the decency to blush heatedly. "So what if I did?! That's not the point here-"

"And you didn't pass?"

Kiba huffed. "Of course I didn't pass, you dolt. Haven't you been listening to what I've been saying? Only one out of the hundreds that try out gets to pass!"

"And who was the lucky bastard who actually did?" Naruto grinned at him.

Kiba glared at him. "It was Gaara."

Naruto burst out laughing.

"It's not funny." Kiba crossed his arms.

"Sure it is!" Naruto giggled, slapping his knees in mirth. "Is that why you're so bitter about him all this time?"

"No." Kiba sullenly said.

"Oh man," Naruto sighed, once he got his mirth in control. "This cracks me up too much."

"Are you done now?" Kiba snarkily asked.

"Nearly."

"So what about it, Naruto? I'm telling you, give it a shot." said Kiba.

Naruto shook his head. "Unlike you, dog boy, I have no interest in joining the soccer team at all. Uchiha's just too damn scary."

"So you admit you're scared of Uchiha?"

"No." Naruto snapped. "I'm saying he's a psychotic bastard who needs to get a life. And I'm starting to think you should get one too."

Kiba snorted. "Speak for yourself, blondie."

Naruto snickered. Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Come on," the blonde mumbled. "Let's go back before said psychotic bastard decides to kill us for making him wait for so long."

Kiba nodded in agreement and the two made their way back to the Uchiha who was indeed looking a bit peeved for the long wait.

"Is the pep talk done and over with?" he said dryly.

"All over." Naruto replied lightly.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Well what?"

Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh. "Goddamit, Uzumaki."

Kiba nearly laughed. Yes, the pain the blonde idiot can cause you! Naruto looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Are you going to try out, or not?" Sasuke snapped. "The offer isn't open forever."

"My answer still stands." Naruto snidely replied. "I'm not interested."

Sasuke huffed. "That's probably the biggest mistake you've ever made, dobe."

Kiba nodded beside the blonde in quiet agreement. Naruto stomped on his foot.

"That's for me to judge." Naruto shortly replied, ignoring the pained grunts of the boy beside him.

Sasuke harrumphed and turned his back on the blonde, refusing to acknowledge the slight tug in his heart at the outright rejection. He stormed off towards the locker room and didn't even bother to change as he grabbed his duffel bag. He slammed his locker shut harder than necessary and marched out of the room, passing by the blonde (who was just coming in) and refused to acknowledge him.

Sasuke was too much in a hurry to notice the strange look that passed over Naruto's face as he walked past. Naruto stared after the Uchiha long after he was gone, biting his lip in apprehension.

"What's the matter with you?" Kiba asked.

"Nothing."

It was not until he was at the bus stop did Sasuke notice a yellow post-it fluttering down from his duffel bag. He stared at the note for a solid minute before slowly bending down to pick it up. He frowned at it contemplatingly.

Sasuke flipped the note and peered at its content. His eyes widened just a fraction and the sting of rejection eased a bit as he recognized the hasty scrawl in the note. His mouth slowly curved into a small smirk as he closed his eyes and allowed the note to flutter away.

On it, small, meek letters serenely proclaimed:

Thank you.


	14. Stronger

--

**Stronger**

"What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger."

-Wilhelm Friedrich Nietzche

--

* * *

"Good heavens!"

"Er-"

"Gracious!!"

"Wait- you don't understand!"

"Help! Murder! Police!!"

The blonde winced as even more pots and pans overturned as the frantic teacher tried to get away. Most probably to call up scotlin yard.

"Way to go, blondie."

Naruto scowled at the boy who sneered at him, not really recognizing him to be in his class.

"Shut up."

The blonde sighed at the mess that was once the culinary masterpiece he was supposed to present to the moderator. It was now a large stain on the floor- a red, blotchy and decidedly disgusting lump of hunk that the woman had mistaken for something else, making her run out of the lab room like a beheaded chicken. Honestly, it wasn't Naruto's fault! People in this club were just too rude for their own good, shoving like that. It was a relief he hadn't been holding a knife you know... else he _might_ just accidentally slip and stab someone in the back.

Naruto quickly grabbed a mop and cleaned up. He regretfully threw the remains of his work into the trash bin and slinked away before the teacher could come back and press ridiculous charges against him. Honestly, it was just a bit of Putannesca sauce...

Naruto sighed up into the mockingly clear blue sky, wondering once again why his life was such a covert mess. What deity did he displease and in what era? Tell him, so he could go back in time and just shut himself up with a pack of tape- and some rope while at it.

Admittedly, he was too ashamed to face Neji as of the moment... How could he face him? He had just failed the boy by his inability to pass a fucking club screening... And so, keeping a sharp lookout for the SC president, Naruto slung his backpack over one shoulder and wandered towards the open campus.

He was just in the middle of wallowing in self-pity when a loud yell brought him back to the earth. He looked up just in time to see a black and white ball hurtling towards him at an alarming speed. Forgetting to breathe for a split second, the blonde turned instinctively and met the cannoning ball with a swift kick with his right foot.

The ball zinged back towards the kicker, making the poor guy duck before the ball could do him possible permanent damage. Which was more than you could say for Naruto...

"Ow! Ow, ow- godammit!" Naruto cursed, grabbing his right foot and hopping madly on the other. "Shit- that fucking hurts- fuck!"

Naruto all but dropped his bag in favor of nursing his foot. He glared balefully at the small dent the ball had made in his shoe. Damn ball- how dare it make a mark on his ONLY pair of decent shoes?!

"Hey, sorry, are you okay?"

Naruto looked up sourly at the boy. "Do I LOOK okay to you?"

The boy shrugged. "At least you're still alive."

Naruto didn't bother to reply. The boy waited for the blonde to stand up, sticking out his hand eagerly as a greeting.

"My name is Konohamaru. What's yours?"

Naruto looked distrustfully at the hand offered to him. This boy nearly ripped his head off his shoulder- was he supposed to accept the hand in friendship?

"I'm Naruto."

Yes, apparently he was.

"Naruto-'niichan!" Konohamaru grinned. "That was some mean kick there! Do you play soccer?"

Naruto blinked. 'Niichan?

"No. I don't."

"Really?!" Konohamaru cried disbelievingly. "Well, you have to! You seem like a natural!"

Naruto felt uncomfortable. Second- no wait, Third offer for that week. He was starting to dread hearing that word.

"Sorry, er- Konohamaru. I'm not interested."

"Why not?" Konohamaru wondered. "Do you have a club already?"

The blonde winced. "No, I don't."

"Then what's stopping you?" Konohamaru pressed.

"Oi, number 23. Get back to the field."

Naruto inwardly groaned as the familiar tenor made its presence known. The dark form of one Uchiha Sasuke steadily approached them.

"That's one." Naruto muttered to himself.

Konohamaru squeaked. "Y-yes, captain!"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably as the Uchiha stopped before him, pinning the blonde with his eyes. Konohamaru quickly scuttled away, his gaze resting curiously on the pair. Those two gave off a strange aura... something he could not put a finger on. Ah well. It doesn't matter. But it WAS uncanny how good they looked together. Like night and day. The moon and the sun. The shadows and the light- you get the picture.

"Uh..." Naruto began, firmly looking anywhere but at the slightly sweaty, flushed faced Sasuke wearing his block number shirt and those awfully short shorts- gah! "I'll uh, I'll just be going now-"

"You didn't get into a club."

"Huh?" Naruto stupidly said, making the mistake of looking up to Sasuke's eyes.

"Club." Sasuke shortly said, not bothering to repeat the whole sentence.

"Uh- well, that is... I, uh..." Naruto stuttered, fighting back a nervous gulp.

"I'll give you another chance." Sasuke continued, not breaking eye contact with the blonde. "Change into some decent clothes and let's see you play ball."

Naruto quickly grabbed at what coherence he had left. "Now wait just one moment! I've told you- I don't WANT to be in your stupid club. Can't you take a hint?"

"That's too bad. Cuz you're trying out anyway."

Sasuke grabbed his wrist. Naruto quickly jerked away.

"You asshole. You can't just force me to do something." Naruto angrily snapped. "I'm not trying out- that's final!"

Sasuke smirked. "You're just afraid you'd make a fool out of yourself again."

The blonde bristled. "Am not!"

"Oh, very mature, usuratonkachi."

"Shut up!"

"Just admit it," Sasuke breezily said, knowing just the right buttons to push to get the blonde riled up. "You're afraid to play cuz you'd get beaten by me."

Nerve!

Naruto's blood boiled. "All right, that's IT!" he grabbed Sasuke by the hand and started to drag the boy towards the field. "Where's the ball, give me the fucking ball and I'll show you what for!"

Sasuke hid a smirk. "Looking forward to it."

The whole soccer team, trainees and all, had all stopped what they were doing in favor of curiously watching the unfolding scenario. The cocky blonde who had been bickering with their very stoic captain, strode over purposely, yelling for a ball.

"Let me at 'em!"

"Change into something first." Sasuke told him.

Naruto shook his head. "I'll make this quick."

Sasuke's glare was not pretty. "You talk big, dobe. Let's see if you have the balls to back it up."

"I'll show you alright." Naruto muttered. "Hey! What does it take to get a goddamn ball around here?" He yelled loudly, glaring at the stares of the people. "And the fuck you looking at?"

Some snorted indignantly and turned their backs on the blonde, deciding he wasn't worthy of their attention. Others choked between cries of laughter and horror at the ugly look on the Uchiha's face. Konohamaru eagerly ran forward and kicked Naruto a ball.

"Here you go, Naruto-'niichan! Go kick ass!"

"Er- thanks." Naruto struggled to remember his name. "Kiki-maru?"

"It's Konohamaru."

"Oh, right."

Sasuke raised a hand, calling the attention of five players (Gaara included) from the group that was still curiously watching them. Slowly, they approached the Uchiha, never tearing their gaze off the blonde who was fumbling around with the ball.

"What's the meaning of this, captain?" Gaara demanded, his voice icy cold.

"Listen up," Sasuke began, ignoring the redhead. "You five are going to play against that blonde dobe. Don't hold back. I want him to be screaming for his mommy when you're done with him. Understood?"

"Yes captain." Came the chorused replies. If ever they were confused by the Uchiha's instructions, they did not show it.

Gaara was scowling at him.

"What are you planning, Uchiha?" he growled.

Sasuke fixed dark, cold eyes on him. "Watch your tone, Sabaku. You may be whatever you disillusion yourself to be- but inside this field, I am your captain. I give the orders. You got me?"

Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, captain."

"Good." Sasuke nodded at the warming up athletes. "You warm up too. I want to see some serious ass kicking. And I warn you Sabaku- I'd KNOW if you held back."

* * *

It was probably the most exciting game anyone had ever witnessed in their entire lives. The blonde was good- but it was obvious he had never played the sport before- at least, not professionally.

"Foul!"

Sasuke slapped a hand to his forehead as the whistle sounded for about the fifth time that minute. Naruto had clonked someone somewhere very private in an attempt to kick the ball to its goal... Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side of the party you're on), he missed.

"Of all the-" Sasuke muttered to himself as he watched the red faced defender chase the blonde around, screaming obscenities that would make his mother cringe into the next millennium.

"Interesting blonde you have there."

Sasuke looked up to meet the amused face of their coach.

"Tsuande-sama." Sasuke nodded in greeting, wondering silently how long she had stood there. "Newbie." He murmured, as a feeble explanation.

"I realize." Tsunade chuckled. "An obvious rookie, but pretty good. More flowery than accurate though."

Sasuke agreed. "I think he would be passable once he got trained." He casually said.

Tsunade raised a brow. "Why Sasuke, I'm surprised. Am I actually hearing a praise?"

Sasuke scowled. "I wouldn't go that far."

Another scream erupted from the field as Naruto managed to barrel into another player, setting loose a domino effect of people tumbling down. Sasuke kept in another sigh. All right, so maybe this was a bad idea...

"Hmm..." Tsunade tapped her chin, eyeing Naruto calculatingly. "He's got an understanding about this game. But he's too downright clumsy to actually play it."

Sasuke looked glum. "He's too clumsy to do anything."

"You know him?"

"He's in my class."

"Ah." Tsunade pretended not to care. "So I suppose he's here under your recommendation?"

"I am now repenting."

Tsunade laughed. "My, my... I never knew you had such humor. What's gotten you in a particularly good mood, Uchiha-kun?"

Sasuke eyed her balefully. "Do I LOOK like I'm in a good mood?"

Tsunade merely smiled knowingly.

"All right- that's IT!" the unfortunate player roared, shaking a fist up at the blonde. "You good for nothing scumbag! I'll teach you to mess around with me you little-"

"Oh dear," Tsunade clicked her tongue disapprovingly, but did not bothered to move from her place to stop the escalating fight. "Incoming."

Naruto stood rooted to the spot as the heavy fist came down, bracing himself for the impact- that never came.

"Wha-?"

"You'll keep your slimy paws off him, if you know what's good for you." Gaara snarled, applying just enough pressure on the fist he had locked in his own grip. "Do we have an understanding here?"

The whole field fell silent at the murderous look in the red head's eyes. The boy- Davey, gulped, wisely backed away.

"Geez, Sabaku... no need to go all psycho on me." He huffed.

Gaara narrowed his eyes in an almost freakish manner. "You don't know half of it."

Davey squeaked.

"Oi!" Naruto slapped the redhead disapprovingly on the shoulder. "Stop looking like some stark raving killer on the loose because it's really freaking us out. You look ready to see some blood!"

"Why not?" Gaara mumbled.

Naruto slapped him again, a little harder. "Freak."

"Idiot."

"Racoon-obsessed mink!"

Gaara glared at him.

Naruto was about to launch another intelligent retort but then he realized it had become too quiet. Scratching his head at the shocked, slightly horrified, ultimately scared expressions on their faces, Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"What's the matter with you?" he tentatively poked at Davey, who immediately shrunk away in fright.

In fact, they were all too caught up with the fact that the blonde ditz had slapped, insulted and called Sabaku Gaara a raccoon- and STILL stood there with them well and alive. It was mind-boggling. You never insult Gaara and live to tell the tale! Never!

"Bravo."

Naruto and Gaara both turned around at the lazy clapping, narrowing their eyes at the tall blonde lady leaning casually by the bleachers next to an irate looking Sasuke.

"You tamed the wild beast." Tsunade shrugged at the questioning face of the blonde, ignoring the soft growl from the redhead. "I see you're trying out for the soccer team eh? I suppose we could use a feisty little blonde demon like you."

Naruto quickly remembered that he wasn't supposed to be trying out.

"I'm not joining this club!" Naruto declared. "I'd rather eat my shoe."

Sasuke bristled beside Tsunade. "Then prepare to eat shit, dobe..." she heard the Uchiha mutter.

"I'm sure you can spare your shoe from the agony." Tsunade flippantly replied. "You suck at the game, boy. You can't run an entire league without falling flat on your face. You kick your teammates more often than you kick the ball. You are reckless, obtrusive and have absolutely no tact whatsoever..."

Naruto was livid.

"But you have the talent." Tsunade continued, not perturbed by the dark look on the blonde's face. "Maybe not for playing in the field, but talent nonetheless. You have that inept understanding for the game- which is more than I can say for most of the players here in this team."

Naruto's anger rapidly turned to confusion. What was the old hag saying?

"I'm saying," Tsunade said, as if reading his mind. "I'd like you to join not as a player, boy- but as a manager."

Naruto stared at her.

"What?!"

"What?" Sasuke turned his head to blink at her.

"What!!" The whole team echoed.

"When?"

Everyone frowned at Konohamaru.

"Sorry."

"That's impossible." Somebody protested. "Look at him- that blonde idiot! He probably won't be able to keep track of records for his life!"

Naruto glared at him.

"Yeah coach!" Davey whined. "Who knows what he'd do? Poison our drinks?"

"Yeah!" came the echoing agreement.

Gaara narrowed his eyes again.

"Whoa boy." Naruto muttered at him. "Psycho me no likey."

"I'm sure blondie here would do nothing of the sort." Tsunade airly replied. "Right, brat?"

"I'm not a brat." Naruto lamely muttered, still at loss at what to say.

Could you blame him though? He wasn't even sure what he was doing there, surrounded by JOCKS of all people. He bitterly cursed his inflatable pride and the bastard Uchiha for landing him in this tight hellhole he desperately tried to get out of.

"...It's settled then? I'll talk to your homeroom teacher."

Naruto quickly tuned into the conversation.

"What? No!" he cried. "P-please, old hag! I CAN'T join the soccer team. What would people THINK?!"

Tsunade raised a blonde eyebrow. "Why, that you're hot shot of course."

Naruto swore.

"I don't want to BE hotshot! I don't want to be categorized with your lot, and it's bloody well bad enough I've been caught trying out for the soccer team-"

"Hey-"

"But now this old hag-" Naruto pointed a finger at Tsunade. "...is telling me I should join the team and what's worse- be the fucking MANAGER of said team! I don't even know WHAT to think anymore! All I wanted to prove, when I came down here- was that I could beat the ass off Sasuke, who didn't even play- that damn bastard, and most certainly NOT to be part of the team! I don't want a part in it, do you understand me? Huh? NONE of it!"

"..."

The whole field was shocked into silence at the blonde's outburst. Naruto kept his eyes firmly on Tsunade who was casually checking on her nails.

Birds chirped, blissfully unaware, perched atop the school maple tree.

"Are you done?" Tsunade finally drawled, brushing her nails on her shirt.

"Nearly." Naruto snidely replied.

"Well then, that's that." Tsunade shrugged. "Welcome to the team, boy. See you on practices, Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Don't be late or I'll kick your ass."

Naruto gaped at Tsuande's retreating back, not really comprehending the situation.

"H-hey! Didn't you hear what I said? HEY!"

A jaunty wave of the hand.

Naruto gritted his teeth. Argh! Stupid old hag! Stupid soccer team! Stupid asshole Uchiha!!

"So..." A blonde- who was one of the five Sasuke handpicked to play against Naruto, scratched his head in confusion. "What's gonna happen now?"

A ripple went over the team as most of them got smacked with the reality that the blonde idiot was going to be their manager.

"He can't be our manager!" one cried indignantly.

"Of course he can't!" Davey hissed. "We'd be bloody mad to let him in on the team."

Naruto shot the boy a sour look. "Hey, I'm right HERE."

"All the better, blonde boy." Davey snarled back. "You hear me out right now. I don't LIKE you."

"Yeah? Well that's all well and good, because I don't like you either." Naruto snidely replied. "You get that stick out of your ass and then maybe we'll talk about it."

"Why you-"

Gaara stepped up behind the blonde in silent warning.

"Quiet." Sasuke snapped, stepping forward and gripping Naruto on the wrist.

"Hey! Let go!"

"You all heard the coach." Sasuke's voice was loud and clear. "He is going to be our new manager from now on. If you have ANY complaints, you can just step out of the team. Got it?"

People glanced at each other unhappily. If they weren't loyal to the Uchiha, they would have turned around and left.

"Yes captain." Came the murmured replies.

"Good. Now, move out."

The athlete's shuffled away, muttering amongst themselves. It wasn't a good idea to protest out loud- not in front of the Uchiha (and Gaara), but that didn't stop them from voicing out their hostilities to each other.

"Dobe..."

Naruto scowled at him. "Don't call me that-"

"We start practice next week." Sasuke interrupted him. "Don't be late. Tsunade hates tardiness. And she meant every word when she said she's going to kick your ass."

Naruto was angry. No, wait- He was furious.

"Why does everybody think they could just step on me and do whatever they fucking want?!" Naruto yelled at him. "What about what I want?! What about MY plans?"

"You don't have any plans." Sasuke reminded him.

"How do you know that?" Naruto demanded, still very much peeved. "You don't know ANYTHING about me!"

"So tell me."

"Huh?"

At the back of his mind, Naruto dully told himself that he should stop shocking himself like that. It did nothing to his nerves to be swinging moods so quickly...

"SASUKE-KUN!!"

Naruto jumped at the particularly loud squeal carrying all the way across the field, as the lone figure of Sakura came badgering towards them. The blonde staggered back at the impeccable timing. Gaara held an arm to steady him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gasped, stopping to a halt in front of the stony faced Uchiha. "I saw... you... from the cheerleadering... field..." she gasped, holding her knees. "I... came... as soon as... I could..."

Naruto wisely bit back a retort and leaned back against the red-head who had been quietly standing behind him all this time.

"Go away." Came Sasuke's tart reply.

Sakura did not heed him.

"Was he bothering you?" the girl demanded, shooting a glare at the innocently by standing blonde. "Did he come to wreck your practice? Just tell me Sasuke-kun- I'll take care of him!"

Naruto recoiled.

"I was NOT!" Naruto yelled, almost frantically, his eyes shooting nervously to the Uchiha whose eyes had narrowed with displeasure.

"Shut up." Sakura snapped at him. "You are in BIG trouble, mister, if I hear you have been causing trouble to my Sasuke-kun-"

"I am not your-"

"Oh, go drown in a toilet!" Naruto angrily bit back. "I haven't done anything to your precious Sasuke! Good BYE!"

Sakura stuck out a tongue as the blonde stormed away, clinging onto Sasuke's arm for good measures. Gaara turned to glare murderously at the pink head before turning around to catch up to the blonde.

Sasuke yanked his arm away from her grip.

"I thought I made it clear," Sasuke hissed. "That I wasn't interested in you?"

"Oh but Sasuke-kun," Sakura pouted, clasping her hands to her chest. "I AM so sorry about that incident! I just- I didn't mean to tell you those awful things, I swear! But I'm willing to take another chance..."

"Well you don't have one."

"Please, Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered, stepping closer into the Uchiha's private space. "I know we are meant to be together. My tarot cards told me so! I'd like to go on a date with you tomorrow..."

Sasuke roughly pushed her away. "Over my dead body." He snarled.

"I know you want to." Sakura reasoned, putting a hand on her hip. "You can come over to my place- I can introduce you to my parents!"

Sasuke was about to tell her to go 'drown herself in a toilet', when an idea struck him. He paused to contemplate. The blonde dobe and the girl lived in the same house... Naruto wouldn't tell him anything- but he was tired of trying to figure out the pieces of the mystery behind the dobe. This was it. His chance.

"All right." He grounded out, almost painfully.

Sakura beamed at him, clapping her hands together in joy. "Oh! I knew you would agree in the end! Oh, I'm so happy Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke big back a scathing retort as the girl launched herself to him, hugging him like there was now tomorrow to look forward to.

Then again, maybe there wasn't...

"This had better be worth it." Sasuke muttered to himself.


	15. Struggle

AN:

My darlings,

This is a chapter that I think, makes me nervous. I don't know what your reactions will be- but I hope for the best! Please take time to tell me what you think.

I am ever so pleased! Two more dears have been kind enough to honor TWTS with their talent. (hugs) These are works from appledagger and typhy respectively. Thank you darlings!

w-w-w-deviantart-com/deviation/31951544/ (appledagger)

w-w-w-deviantart-com/deviation/31987978/ (typhy)

ever yours,

cookie

P.S. Do review! It means the world to all authors. (Havent said that in a while.. haha..)

* * *

--

**Struggle**

"I wouldn't mind if you want to kill me

but I might struggle a bit..."

-Trowa Barton

--

* * *

"Come in, come in!"

Sasuke kept in a large sigh and cautiously stepped into the house, taking great caution not to touch anything. It wouldn't do to get any germs... especially if they came from a certain Haruno Sakura.

"Do you want tea, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura brightly asked, ushering him inside and offering to take off his coat.

"Whatever."

They padded across the immaculate hallway, with Sakura proudly pointing at the many painted jars adorning the hall, and the paintings of various royalties decked on the walls.

"That painting cost about a billion!" Sakura gushed, pointing at a particular ugly portrait of a duke whose face was scrunched up like there was something extremely unpleasant under his nose. "He was some rich guy who beheaded his wife!"

Sasuke boredly looked up at the painting and snorted. He had seen this before. It was the painting Itachi incinerated after receiving it as a gift.

"Actually, its range is about a million, not billion." Sasuke corrected smugly. "And the man there is Duke Wryntson. He was accosted for killing his wife in the bathroom."

Sakura didn't seem perturbed at the blatant humiliation and gushed out at Sasuke's knowledge.

"Sasuke-kun is really so great!" she squealed. "You know so much!"

Sasuke ignored her.

"Let's go to the lounge, shall we?" Sakura pleasantly suggested, grabbing his arm and dragging him to another room.

Inside, the two maids quickly straightened to attentiveness, obviously gossiping just before the two came in. Sasuke pointedly ignored how the two women gasped at 'Madame Sakura's' company, and instead, made a beeline for the one-man seat that sat perpendicular the inconspicuous love couch.

"Tea, sir?" the maid- the left one, asked him, giggling right after.

"..."

"Serve tea, then get out." Sakura sharply told the two maids, her eyes narrowing at the blatant flirting.

Both women pouted, but chirruped a 'yes ma'am.' Not surprisingly, their movements were sluggish and slow- no doubt stalling for the much needed time to ogle Sasuke. The door creaked open as a bushy ginger tail made itself known, announcing its furry presence with a loud 'meow'. Sakura patted the seat beside her invitingly. Sasuke watched in silent satisfaction as the cat ignored her.

"Enjoy your tea, sir." The maid bowed her head and winced in what was supposed to be a seductive manner. A slight sway of the hips, and the maid was gone.

Sasuke beat himself up for the hundredth time. Why, WHY did he insist on putting himself through such torture?? A blonde head flashed through his mind, and he frowned. That stupid dobe... Sighing, the black haired Uchiha settled down uncomfortably in the stiff and obviously new couch, steeling himself for the long torture session that was care of the girl's incessant chattering. He rolled his eyes as she started gushing out strange fantasies about them being together...

It was going to be a looooooong day...

--

* * *

--

It was much later that afternoon, after Sakura had chatted his ear off about her escapade with a certain Ino girl at the mall, that the one sided conversation turned an interesting twist.

"So Sasuke-kun!" Sakura chirped, putting her cup down daintily on its saucer. "Tell me more about yourself."

"I have a better idea." Sasuke muttered, not even touching his cup. "Why don't you tell me more about you."

Sakura giggled. "Oh all right! I'm Haruno Sakura, from class 1-D... and, um... I like cheerleading, shopping, and YOU Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Charming.

"What about your family?" he finally forced himself to ask.

"My mother is out shopping, and my Father is a businessman." Sakura laughed. "They know you're here, Sasuke-kun. Don't worry!"

"..."

"And how about you?" Sakura began. "What about your fam-"

"Do you live with your relatives?" Sasuke interrupted, getting tired with beating around the bush.

"No." Sakura replied, getting confused with his questions. "We just moved from the- er, I mean, we just moved, you see, and we don't have any relatives staying here..."

She pouted. "That's not fair Sasuke-kun! Tell me about you-"

"What about Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sakura blinked. "What about him?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. "Isn't he part of your family?"

Sakura sighed. "Oh, I suppose. He's my cousin, if it all comes down to that. But I refuse to be related with that monster. You see..." she leaned over as if in some conspiracy. "His parents, they were good for nothing people. They were drunkards- both of them! And his mother was a prostitute."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at the smug face of Sakura.

"Yes, its true!" she continued, her eyes widening as if it was some important revelation. "Can you imagine the nerve of that brat? With his parents like that, how dare he show his face to the world, huh?"

Sasuke quickly schooled his face into the stoic mask once again, while his insides raged with his inner turmoil at the revelation.

"So you see, Sasuke-kun," Sakura breezily said. "It's not a good idea to be associating with trash like that. My father told me that a rotten apple falls from the rotten tree..."

Sasuke couldn't believe the extent of this girl's delusion- It was frightening. Sakura mistook the expression on the usually stoic boy as something akin to disbelief and disgust for the blonde.

"I know!" Sakura sighed, throwing her hands up. "You must be thinking we are mad people, right Sasuke-kun? To be living under the same roof with the bastard of a son of some drunkard and his prostitute wife..."

CRASH!

Both heads looked up to the door in surprise. The blonde stood by the open doorway, his face deathly pale and his eyes wide in shock and fear.

"Wh-what... H-how..." Naruto stammered, his thin form shaking with unsuppressed anguish.

Sakura took one look at him, then at the floor where the tea tray lay in a mess.

"Oh, its you." She boredly flipped a hand. "Clean up that mess right now, and get out. You're disturbing our date." She turned back to Sasuke.

"That's a LIE!" Naruto cried, shaking.

Sakura paused, glancing at him again and snorting. "I say no lies."

"You take that BACK!" Naruto yelled, storming into the room and standing before the girl, kicking away the tea tray to the corner. "You don't know ANYTHING, you BITCH! Don't you DARE say those things about my parents!!"

"Oh, so the monster is protective about his parents?" Sakura haughtily sniffed. "Parents that practically threw you on our doorstep and got themselves killed on some drunken escapade! They were scum! Garbage! Lowest of the low! People like them DESERVED to die!"

Naruto was so angry he gripped at the broken glass in his hand, uncaring that the skin sliced open or that his hand began to bleed. He was too angry to notice Sasuke staring at him somewhere to his right. He was too angry to see anything but the pink haired devil reincarnate that dared insult his parents.

"I HATE YOU!" Naruto screamed, throwing the shards of glass to the girl, uncaring that he practically showered the room with specks of his blood. "I HATE YOU ALL! I don't care WHAT you tell your father anymore- FUCK YOU!!"

"How dare you?!" Sakura screeched. "How dare you come here and ruin my date with Sasuke-kun?! My father will hear about this- do you hear me?!"

"I don't- fucking- CARE!!" Naruto bellowed back.

"Dobe..."

"And you!" Naruto rounded on him, his anger rolling in terrible waves. "I TRUSTED you! I trusted you and your fucking high and mighty ass! But I was wrong- I was fucking wrong! You're just like them! You asshole! I HATE YOU!!"

With a dramatic sob, Naruto turned around and fled.

"Naruto!" Sasuke bolted after him.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke threw her a scathing glare. "Don't come near me!" he snarled. "This was a mistake, Haruno. You fucking disgust me- I don't ever want to see your fucking shadow again!"

With that, he was gone.

The empty room echoed forebodingly in silence, the heartfelt cries of anger, hate and anguish ghosting around, refusing to let the remaining person in the room to forget about what had occurred that afternoon...

Sakura crumpled down to her knees and bowed her head.

It was the first time her tears came silently...

--

* * *

--

"Naruto!"

Sasuke frantically looked around for a sign of the distraught blonde. This wasn't supposed to happen. Goddamit!

Sasuke ignored the old lady who was waving her cane at him in indignation as he breezed past her, uncaring about anything else but his task to find the blonde dobe. He wasn't ready to admit that he felt a little guilty... no. Uchiha's were never guilty. They never had a reason to.

"Where are you, Usuratonkachi?"

Sasuke quickly strode up to the bridge overlooking the busy streets of Konoha and ran his sweeping gaze over the throng of people. Thank god Naruto was blonde... His task would be near damn impossible otherwise...

Satisfied that there was no bright head among the busy streets, he abandoned his post atop the bridge and proceeded to look in the park. Where do distraught, crying, blonde dobe's go when they are tragically backstabbed by a dark haired, dark eyed Uchiha? Sasuke frowned. Backstabbed was such a strong word... he never really meant any harm. Really.

"Watch it!"

Sasuke turned to snap at whoever DARED bump into him like that, but paused when he recognized the tousled hair and the tattooed face.

"Inuzuka-"

"Uchiha??"

"Have you seen the dobe?"

"Naruto?"

Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes. "No, Santa Clause. Have you seen him?"

"No." Kiba took half a second to look taken aback at the attempted joke before raising a suspicious brow. "Why are you looking for him? What do you want from him?"

Sasuke kept in a retort and took off again, not even bothering to turn around to acknowledge Kiba's cries of outrage.

"If I find out you did anything to him- Uchiha or not, I swear this fist will fly!" He yelled, jumping up and down. "You hear me?! You'd better not doing anything funny!!"

Sasuke tossed him a glare.

Honestly. The blonde had too many overprotective idiots all over him. It didn't, however, occur to him that he was one of said overprotective idiots...

Sasuke had run all over town- and still no sign of the dobe. He clutched at his knees and took in deep breaths, trying to calm his erratic heart. Thank god he was an athlete... a normal human being would have died of hyperventilation by now. He eyed the large building in front of him calculatingly, wiping the sweat off his brow. This was the last place... the only place he hadn't looked yet. He slipped inside the large, iron gates, his eyes flicking briefly at the large sign proclaiming: Konoha High.

Sasuke padded silently over to the field, where not two days ago, the soccer tryouts took place. He frowned as he silently took in the wide stretch of green, the breeze picking up and tickling the grass underneath him. His breathing steadied as he looked up to the orange sky, reminding him how late it already was.

He walked along the campus, keeping an eye out for a blonde head. The school was deserted since it was a weekend, making his footsteps echo eerily as he walked. He had felt this nagging pull that led him towards the back of the school, where gym equipment was usually stocked- and usually left to rot. He winced as the leaves crackled under his shoes, the silence of the campus magnifying the sound a hundredfold. His dark eyes scanned the sloping landscape, sharp and wary for any source of movement. He continued walking, following the walls of the school building. He turned around at the corner and stopped in his tracks.

Found him.

The blonde was sitting with his knees pulled to his chest, his back to the white walls of the school. He was staring dully out into space, his hand absently pulling at the grass under him. Sasuke hesitated, and then slowly walked over to him.

How long he stood there, he did not know.

"Why are you here?"

Sasuke winced at the calm tone of the blonde.

"I wanted to make sure you were still alive."

Naruto let out a dry laugh. "So you could torment me more?"

Sasuke pretended to contemplate. "I'll think about it."

Naruto weakly snorted. Sasuke tentatively settled down beside him, trying to make out the blank expression on the blonde's face. Silence settled on them like dust, sticking to their clothes and the empty spaces between them.

"I didn't mean it, you know." Sasuke slowly began.

Naruto briefly flicked his blue eyes at him, but did not say anything.

"It was a mistake." Sasuke continued. "I did not realize-"

"You didn't realize?" Naruto repeated, a spark of anger returning to his voice. "You didn't REALIZE? Why didn't you just mind your own business then? Why do you have to know these things about me?"

"Look, I-"

"You told me you wouldn't force me to tell you things," Naruto continued, his anger escalating. "You TOLD me that! And I fucking trusted you! How could you stoop so low, using Sakura like that?"

"I didn't know, okay?"

"And you, the mighty Uchiha, couldn't stand not knowing, is that it?" Naruto sneered. "You couldn't stand to be left in the dark, is it?"

Sasuke bristled.

"Well now you know, what are you going to do about it?" Naruto looked at him bitterly. "Are you disgusted? Shocked? Are you planning to tell the whole class what a monster I am? GO AHEAD."

The blonde laughed bitterly- almost hysterically.

"This was bound to happen anyway! I was fooling myself when I thought I could finally live normally without having the people around me hate me- I was so stupid! And you know what else?" Naruto looked at him bitterly. "I was so stupid for trusting you! YOU! Of all the arrogant, pig-headed, asshole, bastards-"

"I didn't believe it."

Two seconds of ringing silence followed. Silence was such a sweet torture. And for Naruto, the breaking point would be insanity. Was he mad already?

"W-wha-?"

"I didn't believe a word she said." Sasuke repeated, frowning at him. "And I wont believe it, until you tell me the truth."

Naruto stared at him. He WAS mad. Utterly, utterly, mad. His mind was playing tricks on him, you see.

"Y-you," Naruto hesitated. "Are you for real?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "Do you wish otherwise?"

Naruto shook his head, slumping wearily against the wall behind him. "No. It's just so... bizarre."

Sasuke snorted softly and looked away, gazing absently over the treetops as silence fell over them. They stayed like that for quite a while, with the sun slowly yet gradually making its way down the hilly slopes.

"It wasn't true, you know..." Naruto suddenly said, his gaze focused on an unsuspecting jaybird hopping gaily on one foot. "About my parents..."

Sasuke simply nodded.

"It's true I don't remember much about them," Naruto continued, the grass wearing thin under his questing fingers. "But I'm almost sure they weren't the right bastards Sakura claims them to be..."

Naruto looked at Sasuke almost hesitantly, as if uncertain whether or not he should be telling this to him. But with all the ruckus he had caused the dark haired boy, this was something he owed him. Somewhat.

"I had this dream..." the blonde tentatively said. "Once, when I was ten years old. In my dream, it was a late summer afternoon, and I was in a room- and there was someone, a woman, rocking me in her arms like this," Naruto made a gentle motion with his hands. "...and singing me a gentle lullaby..."

Sasuke kept quiet and nodded just the slightest to show he was listening.

"Her voice was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard..." Naruto whispered. "And something told me, something in my heart told me... that I had a mother. And that she loved me, and she sang me to sleep."

Sasuke swallowed.

"That's why I've never believed Sakura." Naruto sighed. "I know, I know... it's just a stupid dream. But it felt so real, you know? I just can't let go of the hope that it might have really happened. I want it so much to be real."

"Everyone wants that." Sasuke murmured.

"Yeah, they do, don't they?" Naruto leaned back tiredly on the wall.

Sasuke nodded quietly, letting him have his silence.

"So tell me, Sasuke..." Naruto sighed, looking up at him somberly. "What was the real reason you went on a date with Sakura? I really don't buy it that you wanted to weasel out information about me..."

"That was it, yes."

Naruto snorted disbelievingly. "Right. Come on, I've told you something I don't usually go spouting off to anyone. You owe me this."

Sasuke sighed impatiently. "I told you, that was the only reason. Believe what you want."

"Why the hell do you want to know stuff about me so badly?"

"Because you won't tell me anything!"

"Why do you need to know?"

"It's in my nature." Sasuke grumbled. "You interest me. It's only natural for me to want to know more about you."

"Why do I interest you?" Naruto asked, truly curious.

Sasuke glared at him. "I don't know. Maybe it's your astounding talent for being incredibly stupid. Honestly, I've never seen anything like you."

Naruto looked indignant. "Oh yeah, that's right. Insult me, why dontcha? Geez, its times like these I wonder why I even bother with you. I hope you die from curiosity, you arrogant bastard."

"Hardly likely."

"Asshole."

"Dobe."

"Git."

"Are we at this game again?" Sasuke exasperatedly raised his hands.

"Hmph." Naruto crossed his arms and looked away.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. A gust of wind blew towards them, making them both shiver in their thin summer wear. Sasuke got up, dusting non-existent dirt from his pants.

"Get up, dobe. We'll catch a cold freezing our asses out here."

Naruto ignored him, staring straight ahead. Sasuke's brows dipped in frustration.

"What now?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Naruto shortly informed him.

"You'll freeze here."

"I don't care." The blonde replied. "Anything is better than going back to that hell hole. Going back just right after that is like going straight into the butchery. I'll be dead meat even before I utter a sound."

Sasuke's eyes darkened at the notion.

"Who?" his soft tone did nothing to hide the underlying ice laced with a dark promise.

Naruto shrugged. "Her father."

Sasuke fists clenched. "That's child abuse." He spat.

"Of course it is."

"Why don't you report it?"

Naruto snorted. "A lot of help it would do. I'm basically a lost case, Sasuke. I'm a juvenile, hormonal teenager who manages to scrap through schoolwork. He's a respected businessman with new money in his hands. Who would the officials believe?" Naruto shrugged dejectedly. "Besides, I have no proof."

Sasuke cursed.

"How long?"

"What, the beating?" Naruto scratched his head. "I don't know, actually. Since forever, I think. But it's just gotten worse these past years..."

"How can you talk about it like that?" Sasuke demanded. "Like its no big thing? Like your used to it?"

Naruto eyed him. "Because I am." He replied calmly. "I've accepted it long ago, Sasuke. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Yes, there is." Sasuke insisted.

"I suppose there is." Naruto agreed. "I'm waiting till I earn enough money- then I'm outta there. I'm just bidding my time and finishing my education."

"Hmph."

"What?" Naruto blinked up at him tiredly. "Amazed that the blonde dobe actually has a plan? And what does 'dobe' mean, anyway?"

"It means dead last."

"Dead last-"

"Get up." Sasuke ordered, crossing his arms determinedly. Naruto glared up at him indignantly.

"No! I'm staying right here. Haven't you been listening to what I've been saying? What, do you want me to die?"

Sasuke ignored him. "Get up, dobe."

"No." Naruto crossed his arms petulantly. "I'm not going anywhere. You'll have to carry me if you want me anywhere, you asshole."

Sasuke took this as a challenge. "If you insist."

"WHOA!!"

Naruto blinked up in alarm as he felt himself being lifted up. "Put me down! Put me down- BASTARD!!"

Sasuke ignored the blonde's determination to yell his ear off, and swung the blonde firmly onto his back.

"You- you- put me down his instant, you crazy prick!" Naruto rained heavy fists on the Uchiha's back. Pity, if he wasn't in such a weakened state, he could have driven a particularly large blow on the bastard's head...

"I'm not going back!" he cried hysterically, truly frightened now that Sasuke was walking towards the exit. "You can't make me! Sasuke!"

"Be quiet." Sasuke snapped. "I'm not taking you back to that god-forsaken place! You're coming with me."

Naruto paused. "Wha-?"

"You can't possibly expect to sleep out here, dobe." Sasuke sniffed haughtily. "Now stop acting like a complete idiot and shut up."

Naruto slowly, hesitantly brought down his fist, falling silent as the events of that day caught up with him and fatigue washed over his body. He was draped securely over the dark haired boy's back in a piggyback, his arms dangling lazily over the Uchiha's shoulders.

A stray cat paused mid step on its way down the roof, its piercing gaze falling curiously on the strange figure dappled in the waning sun. The dark haired human was walking slowly but surely towards the horizon, carrying his load on his back like a treasured object that merited his fierce protection from predators. Ah, well... the tabby jumped daintily from its place, landing gracefully on its feet. It pitied whatever creature foolish enough to cross the human's way. Those dark eyes were fiercer than anything it had ever seen in its five out of nine lives...

Naruto was nearly drunk with sleep as the swaying lulled him to drowsiness. Sasuke was warm- a comforting opposite from the cold that was biting into his being with every sting of the wind. Naruto unconsciously wrapped his arms tighter around Sasuke's strong shoulders and leaned his forehead on the nape of the boy's neck, burrowing his nose there and unintentionally getting a whiff of the Uchiha's comforting scent- a mix of warm sandalwood and a hint of spice.

The blonde eyed the crooked shadows dancing on the ground courtesy of the setting orange sun that stained the sky with a pinkish glow. It was almost peaceful. Naruto felt his eyes slowly closing as he felt a sense of warmness and safeness washing over him. As the last tendrils of consciousness left him, he wondered absently why the soft voice accompanying the gentle rocking reticent of a lullaby was male...

--

* * *

--

"Ouch!"

"Hold still, dobe!"

Naruto bit back a scathing retort and concentrated on the pair of tweezers the Uchiha held in one hand.

"Can't you be a little more gentle?" Naruto hissed, as another particularly painful sting ricocheted up his arm.

"It wasn't my fault a certain dobe decided to impale himself with broken glass." Sasuke snorted, but noticeably became gentler with his ministrations. "Hold still."

"I'm trying!"

Itachi watched the drama unfold before him with carefully hidden amusement. He stood casually by his baby brother's door, leaning by the frame, eyeing the blonde interestingly. If anyone had noticed his presence, they did not bother mentioning anything- which was fine with him. He rather fancied staying a little while longer to gauge the relationship between the two who were now bickering by the bed. It was very seldom Sasuke brought home a guest... and a rather pretty one at that.

"If you think you can do better, be my guest." Sasuke snapped, throwing the dressing rather forcefully on the bed. "I'm sorry for trying to be nice."

"You can't be nice even if your life depended on it!" Naruto retorted, and Itachi had to bring a hand to his mouth to quickly hold in a snort. Point for the blonde.

Sasuke's scowl was ugly. "Fine! Have it your way. Bleed to death for all I care!"

He stormed out of the room.

"Outta the way." He snarled at Itachi.

Itachi obediently complied, stepping 'out of the way' and watching the younger Uchiha storm down the stairs and disappear. He slowly turned to face the remaining blonde in the room who was loudly demonstrating his array of very colorful language. It was quite a while before Naruto noticed that he was not exactly alone in the room...

"What-" Naruto stared. "Who are you?"

Itachi raised a delicate eyebrow, sorely amused at the blush that spread on the blonde's cheeks.

"I- I mean, who- its Sasuke's room and I- well, I didn't know he had relatives and-" the blonde stammered.

Itachi held up a hand. "It wasn't exactly courteous of Sasuke to skip the introductions, was it? I am Uchiha Itachi, his older brother. You must be a classmate of his."

"Er- yeah." Naruto scratched his head. This Uchiha Itachi seemed nice- despite being Sasuke's brother, but there was still something eerily creepy about him.

"I'm ah, sorry for crashing here so late. He dragged me here, you know." He hurriedly explained. "Don't worry though- I'll be going soon, just as soon as I get these wounds wrapped up..."

Itachi shook his head. "You are welcome to spend the night...?" He let the question hang.

"Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Naruto."

The blonde blushed again as the taller and older version of Sasuke murmured his name, rolling the syllables on his tongue like some foreign language or some exquisite wine. Honestly, what was it with Uchiha's saying his name so sexily?

Naruto kicked himself. He did NOT just use Uchiha and sexy in the same sentence. That was out of order, that was.

"Uzumaki-san... Uzumaki-san!"

"Huh, what?" Naruto shook his head in confusion. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

Itachi looked amused.

"I merely asked what your relationship with Sasuke was... As you can see, he isn't really much of a people person."

Naruto snorted. "Tell me about it."

"No," Itachi corrected. "YOU tell me."

"Why don't you ask his fan club?" Naruto suggested, trying to be helpful. "He's got loads of 'em."

"True." Itachi shrugged. "But I have found that somehow, for strange reasons, they miraculously disappear whenever I'd like to have a word with them..."

"Big surprise there."

"Hm?"

"Oh, uh- i said, I like your hair." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Thank you."

"..."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably as Itachi continued staring at him. God, what was with him? Did he have something on his face? He was about to open his mouth to ask what was wrong, when Itachi spoke once again.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Huh?"

Itachi just looked at him, and Naruto concluded that this Uchiha also did not like repeating himself. Hot damn.

"He's uh, well... He's..."

Naruto paused.

What WAS Sasuke to him? Was he a rival? An enemy? A- a friend? Or was he just some plain acquaintance? Naruto suddenly realized with a pang that he did not know where they stood. He thought back to all the times they shared...

Was he an enemy? No... There were times when Sasuke could REALLY be annoying and downright evil… But there were also times wherein he was nice. Just like that time during Show and Tell, where Sasuke saved him from Ino's rabbid rabbit who was SURELY out to get him... And also that time he offered him a water bottle when he was practically dying with dehydration... No, Sasuke was not an enemy.

Well, was he a rival? Surely, yes! He constantly challenged him- and Naruto could not count in one hand the many times he had risen up to said challenges. Yes, the soccer tryout was a primary example! There we go- Naruto knew what Sasuke was. He was a rival!

But wait- that wasn't exactly true, was it? If they were rivals, they had to have something to fight about. But most of the time, Naruto would admit it was merely an issue about pride. His pride. The competitions were just distractions to appease his embarrassment- which the Uchiha promptly provided. This was not rivalry- it was pretense!

So what was he? Was he friend??

Naruto thought back to the people he considered friends... Kiba, who was loud and annoying but extremely loyal and trustworthy... True, he could not cook to save his life among other things- but Naruto found that Kiba was the closest he could have to a best friend... A best friend with whom he could play tricks with, laugh and generally have fun with. Shikamaru was quiet and rarely had time to offer a decent conversation- but he cared for the blonde and Naruto knew that. The countless times he had protected him from the jeers and taunts of Sakura and her new found cronies were enough to show him that. Lee, Chouji and Shino were from another class- but during breaks, they never failed to show up and share a laugh or two with him. Naruto treasured these people with all his heart and vowed to protect them with his life.

And there was Gaara... Psychotic, yes. Weird? Definitely. But the temperamental red-head was the closest Naruto had to a brother he never had. They understood each other- and that was all that mattered. That day on the playground- their flame of kinship had grown to a strong fire that Naruto vowed he would keep alive. Neji... he was brother as well. An older one. One he could always count on to help him. The blonde found that the long haired Hyuuga had a soft spot in his heart, simply because he was the first person who had been nice to him- and continued to be. And he loved him for it.

So what was Sasuke?

He pictured the dark haired Uchiha in his mind. What did he feel? Annoyance. Exasperation. Uneasiness. But underneath... trust? And perhaps some care? Did he really care for the bastard? He thought back to the fiasco this afternoon when the Uchiha had found out about his parents... Did he care? Yes, he did. When he heard Sakura saying those things about him to Sasuke- he felt afraid. Why? Fear coursed through his veins for fear of what? Rejection. Sasuke's rejection. He was so afraid to see Sasuke's face of disgust. Disgust for him. He could not bear the thought.

Naruto's whole body froze in shock of his epiphany.

That afternoon, the reason he had told Sasuke of his dream- his secret, was because he wanted desperately Sasuke to know the truth. So that he would not hate him- just like how the villagers hated him. Because if Sasuke hated him… he would die.

"He's a friend."

Itachi tilted his head interestedly at the blonde. The long contemplating silence did not go unnoticed by the older Uchiha.

"A friend?"

Naruto slowly looked up, his eyes clear and sure for once. "An important friend."

The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched in amusement.

"I see."

He turned around to leave. "It was nice meeting you, Uzumaki-san-"

"Naruto."

"Naruto." He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Itachi slipped out the door without another word, ignoring the still form of Sasuke standing by the doorway as he made his way down the hall. It was only when he had reached the bottom of the stairs did he allow himself a tiny hint of smile. In your face, baby brother.

Upstairs, the younger Uchiha remained rooted to the spot. He barely noticed Itachi passing by- too engrossed was he in his own thoughts. Sasuke waited for his heart to settle down before stepping into the room, his face carrying its usual mask of arrogance. He had heard the blonde's words... and it gave him no little satisfaction.

"Are you still at it?"

Naruto snapped out if his stupor, looking up at the smug face of the dark eyed boy. He scowled as all nice thoughts about the Uchiha flew right out the window.

"Shut up." Naruto huffed, grabbing a wad of cotton and sloppily dabbing disinfectant on his wounds. "Keep your hair on, I'll be done in a minute- ouch!"

Sasuke sighed as the wounds reopened at the blonde's jerky ministrations, blood running down his fingers and staining the bed sheets.

"Dobe." He murmured, with no hint of malice in his tone.

He kneeled in front of the blonde and gently took the bleeding hand, running the wet towel he brought from the kitchen over the wound to clean it. Naruto fell silent as Sasuke worked to dab the disinfectant on the cuts, dutifully making sure he did not miss any spot.

The blonde uncomfortably shifted in his seat. He could feel the warmth of Sasuke's hand on his own slightly sweating ones, Sasuke's breath fanning softly on his skin... He was hyperaware of every cell in his body- and suffered the close proximity of the Uchiha as the tips of that dark hair tickling the underside of his wrist...

Sasuke proceeded to wrap Naruto's hand gently with the clean bandages, their warm hands brushing as he placed the wrappings strategically on the injured one. Naruto felt the blush spreading on his cheeks and his brain struggled to answer why.

It dawned on him as Sasuke cut the last strip of the bandages away, the turmoil of emotion that had overwhelmed him at that one touch...

No... oh no no no no no no no no... It can't be!

Naruto's eyes were wide with horror as he stared at the pale hands worrying over his own.

He was attracted to Uchiha Sasuke.


	16. sun

This chapter will have a bit of technical terms. I won't say what to spoil the surprise, but if you are confused, there are footnotes at the bottom of the chapter, for your guide!

* * *

--

**Sun**

"If this place were deep inside the earth,

I would not yearn for a sun I never knew."

-Goku

--

* * *

"This isn't happening."

"I know... I was hoping you'd tell me I was dreaming."

Gaara ignored the two horror stricken boys beside him and opted instead to fix his eyes on the cheerfully yakking Iruka, who had yet to realize that half the population of the class was backing away uneasily towards the exit of the room.

"Who's the crazy person who invented this class?" Naruto hissed at the boy beside him, who was also frowning distrustfully at the shiny shoes he held in his right hand.

"A sadist." Kiba replied in all seriousness. "A sadist who enjoys torturing students like us."

"Any questions?" Iruka beamed at his students.

Naruto quickly raised a hand.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Can I go to the nurse's office?" he put on his best sick face. "I think I'm getting down with something. Please?" he added for good measure.

"Nope." Iruka replied. He knew all the tricks students use to get out of class like the back of his hand. "Go on now, pick a partner, then we'll start."

"But sensei," Ino spoke up. "The guys outnumber the girls."

Iruka shrugged. "Some boys would have to have male partners then."

Naruto pulled a face.

"Let's be partners." Kiba tugged on his sleeve, throwing his shoes on the ground to finally put them on.

"No way." Naruto crossed his arms petulantly. "I still haven't forgotten what you did to our project, Kiba. Honestly, you and I don't work!"

"I said I was sorry!" Kiba objected.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "That didn't stop Kurenai-sensei from giving us a big, fat, zero, now, did it?"

"Well, no-"

"I'm pairing up with Gaara." The blonde declared, stepping up to the silent redhead. "You don't mind, do you?" he looked at Gaara.

Gaara shook his head.

Kiba crossed his arms. "Fine. I'll just get Shikamaru to pair up with me."

"Good luck." Naruto sarcastically said, glancing at the lazy boy who had yet to get up from his position on the floor.

"Hey 'maru! Get up, you lazy ass and be my partner!"

Gaara turned to look pointedly at the shoes Naruto held in his right hand. "Aren't you going to put those on?"

Naruto glanced at them. "I suppose."

"Hurry up." Gaara looked up at Iruka sensei. "We're starting the Waltz first."

"What?"

--

* * *

--

"One, two, three... two, two, three... and turn! two, three... One, two, three..."

"Gaara," Naruto hissed, trying to get his feet to cooperate. "Stop digging into my shoulder, dammit! It hurts!"

"If I would, you'd go the wrong direction." Gaara deadpanned. "I'm supposed to lead you."

"Lead. Not squeeze partner half to death." Naruto snapped, nearly tripping over the redhead's foot. "And who made you the guy anyway?"

Naruto tripped.

"Ow!"

Gaara looked at him witheringly. "That, for one."

Naruto ignored him and the loud snickering of the pairs in their vicinity who witnessed his ungraceful nosedive. He allowed the red head to steer him back into position.

"Where in the two, two, three's are we, anyway?" Naruto groused, already in a foul mood.

"In the Promenade." was the only warning Gaara gave before practically swinging Naruto around his arms length, nearly ripping the blonde's arm off its socket.

"OW!!"

Iruka stopped the music.

"Is something the matter?"

Naruto felt the blush creeping into his cheeks as eyes riveted over to them. He realized with a start that he was in a compromising position, trapped in Gaara's arms. He wrenched away from the redhead's grip.

"N-no. Sorry. I tripped." Naruto laughed sheepishly.

Iruka 'hm'ed a reply and started the music again. Slow, jazzy music (like the ones you hear being played in fancy restaurants) started to flow once again from the speakers...

Naruto turned his ugly glare at Gaara.

"What the HELL was that for?" he hissed.

Gaara's tone was accusing. "You were supposed to do a chasse and turn around to face me."

It was very weird to hear Gaara speak of dance steps with his deadpan expression... Naruto would never get over it.

"Well, you didn't have to yank so hard." Naruto mumbled, rubbing his arm. "You almost made me lose an arm."

Gaara gave him a withering look.

"Come on," Naruto sighed. "Let's do this. I think Iruka-sensei plans to give a test later on, that sadistic prick."

And so they did.

It was a matter of fact, of course, that Iruka DID plan on giving them a practical exam, and Naruto was first in his list... But before that, they had to learn the final step of the Waltz!

"The final step is very simple." Iruka began.

Naruto frowned. Iruka had said that three times with the steps before this one, and they were definitely anything BUT simple.

"You do a side step, then turn," he demonstrated the steps. "...two, three... One, two, three... then a promenade, walking step, turn- just like what we did before- in quick succession, then back to first position."

A murmur went up in the room as the few adept ones started practicing the steps with their partners, counting under their breaths. Naruto scratched his head. He understood fine up till the promenade... then he lost it.

"Promenade... walking step, then... what?" Naruto stared at his misplaced feet, wondering for the umpteenth time why he was doing this.

Gaara sighed beside him. "Then you turn."

"How do I turn like this?"

"You're not supposed to do that."

"But Iruka-sensei said-!"

"All right, all right!" Iruka raised his voice over the din of excited murmurs. "Let's have a demonstration, shall we?"

Nods of agreement.

"All right, let's have... Naruto! Come up here."

Naruto paled.

"Oh no." He hid behind Gaara. "Hide meeee!" he moaned.

"Naruto!" Iruka called out, raising a hand to signal him over. "I can see you, you know. Come on out from behind Gaara."

Naruto refused to budge.

"He won't stop until you get this over with." Gaara reminded the blonde.

"Shut up."

"Naruto..." Iruka put on his best warning voice. "If you don't come up here this instant, I'll give you a zero on your practical exam!"

The class stopped laughing and groaned. A practical exam!?

"That's not fair!" Naruto popped his head from behind Gaara.

"It will be if you don't come up here in five."

"I want my lawyer!" Naruto declared.

"Four..."

Naruto panicked. "I can't dance!"

"Three..."

Iruka picked up his record, twirling his pen threateningly.

"Two..."

Naruto huffed, making his way over up front.

"One. Wonderful!" Iruka beamed, slapping the blonde jovially on the back. "For your partner- ah, Sakura, why not?"

Naruto's insides froze. From the group, a certain dark haired boy sharply looked up, narrowing his eyes as the girl made her way up front. Iruka seemed oblivious to the tension permeating the air.

"All right, Naruto-"

"I can't lead." Naruto suddenly spoke up, as the pink haired girl took her position. "Gaara was my partner."

Sakura stared at him, and for once, Naruto couldn't gauge out the expression on the girl's face.

"Hm... alright. Sakura, you may go back now." Iruka nodded apologetically.

Sakura leaned in closer to the blonde. "You're lucky father is on a business trip." She whispered. "He won't be back in a month- so you have until that time to get ready." She backed away and glared. "This time, I'll make sure you won't be able to disturb anyone, anymore. Permanently."

She walked away. Naruto stared after her, not really sure whether he should sigh in relief or shake in apprehension. The Haruno senior was not in the country... or so he concluded. That was a bit of luck, wasn't it? Usually, however, any bit of luck Naruto managed to scrape up had dire consequences... And three guesses what it could be this time.

He was too lost in his thoughts, he did not hear Iruka-sensei yelling at him.

BOINK.

"Ouch!" Naruto yelped, clutching his head. "What was that for!?

Iruka glared at him. "Welcome back to the living, Naruto." he harrumphed.

"I think I liked being dead!"

"We need to get you a partner." Iruka loudly said, ignoring him. "Any volunteers?"

No one raised a hand. No one was brave enough to. Iruka sighed.

"All right then." He turned to the glowering blonde. "Who's your lab partner?"

"Sasuke." Naruto replied. "Why?" suddenly suspicious.

Iruka ignored him. "Sasuke!" he called. "Come on up here and lead our blonde for the waltz!"

Naruto's face heated up. "WHAT?!"

The boys in the class started to laugh while the girls were moaning at his incredible luck. Why, oh why weren't they chosen instead?

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto gulped, nervously tugging on his sleeve. "Since Sasuke's a guy, why don't you get a girl for his partner? I- I really can't dance."

Sasuke stopped in front of them. Naruto glanced up at him nervously.

"What?" Sasuke quirked a brow.

"I really can't dance." Naruto repeated, wringing his hands. "You can ask Gaara- I've stepped on him so many times it's a wonder he hasn't killed me yet."

Somewhere at the back of the room, a certain red head rolled his eyes. Iruka seemed unperturbed.

"We'll all learn in good time, Naruto." He replied. "Go on now, positions!"

"But sensei!" Naruto cried. His eyes widened almost comically as Sasuke stepped closer to him and grabbed him by the hips. "Eep!"

"Relax dobe, and put your hand on my shoulder." Sasuke hid a smirk.

The blonde shakily complied, praying that the Uchiha wouldn't notice his trembling hands. The music started to flow from the large speakers around them as Iruka started to count...

"One, two, three... One, two, three..."

And so they danced...

Naruto mumbled to himself, looking firmly down at his feet, trying to match Sasuke's confident strides. "One- two, three..."

"Watch it."

"Sorry." Naruto hissed, trying not to trip.

Naruto nearly choked when the dark haired boy pulled him closer to his arms, a pair of lips, soft as silk brushing against his right ear as he whispered...

"Fall into my steps..." Sasuke murmured, urging the blonde to follow his movements. "Don't think... Feel. I've got you."

Naruto gulped, willing himself to relax. Gradually, his shoulders lost its tenseness as he surrendered to the boys touch. He let himself be guided across the polished wooden floors as the slow dance continued. Naruto closed his eyes and followed the pressure of Sasuke's fingers, falling into step as the steady rhythm of 'One, two, three' lulled him to last night's events...

He was attracted to him.

Naruto had realized this after Itachi's seemingly innocent question... What was Sasuke to him? Someone important certainly... But he hadn't realized just how much... Naruto almost wished he didn't- Sasuke's close proximity was killing him.

He slept over his house last night.

It was, of course, out of the question for the blonde to go back to the Haruno's that night. So, with the help of Itachi, Sasuke managed to tie the blonde to his bed and force him to sleep in the guest room provided...

That was joke, of course. Nothing so extreme. Naruto had fallen asleep right after his grand epiphany and woke up feeling rather confused the morning after, nearly rousing the whole neighborhood with his echoing scream. Sasuke had been terribly annoyed by that, and he, who was by far not a morning person, had proceeded to yelling at the blonde for disturbing the peace so early in the day. The Uchiha household had never been so lively, Itachi thought mildly, spearing some bacon onto his toast.

And so Naruto was forced to go to school wearing Sasuke's spare uniform, which was a size too large for his skinny frame. To his annoyance, it made him look even smaller than usual. He refused to acknowledge the slight tingling in his stomach at the notion that he was wearing something of the Uchiha's. No, those were just morning chills!

They had to skip breakfast as well, Sasuke impatiently dragging the blonde away from the table since they would be late for school. Of course, according to Sasuke, it was entirely the blonde's fault. HE did not spend eternity in the bathroom unlike SOME other blonde people. Itachi was mildly disappointed he could not soak up the sight of a disheveled looking Naruto. He really was a pretty thing. In fact, that was probably half the reason Sasuke was in such a hurry to get out of the house...

"Ready, dobe?"

Naruto blinked back from his thoughts, looking mildly confused. "Huh? Ready for what?"

"Aaaaaaa-nd... One, two, three... Two, two, three..." Iruka started to clap to the rhythm. "Promenade! That's good, Sasuke-! Keep those toes in, two, two three!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, forcing his legs to move. Sasuke tightened his grip on the blonde, urging him to follow his lead.

"Wait a minute-" Naruto started to panic, his feet getting entangled. "You're going too fast! Wait- whoa!"

The whole class gasped as the two boys fell, as if in slow motion, entangled in each others arms- crashing to the floor like two mighty oak trees that had surrendered to the wind. A whirl of dark and light clashing, and then... silence.

Iruka stopped the music and padded worriedly over to the two fallen boys. The class waited in bated breath- no one daring to move, as if they had been forbidden to do so.

"Are you two alright?" Iruka tentatively asked, trying to look over Sasuke's shoulder, where a hint of blonde peeked out. "Is anyone hurt?"

No, no one was hurt. But no one knew why the two weren't moving either. If they had, they wouldn't be so quiet...

Naruto was in shock mode. His elbows hurt and his backside was throbbing and Sasuke's weight pinning him down was certainly not helping- but he never even recognized the pain. In fact, he didn't recognize anything as of the moment, but the pair of soft, warm lips currently attached to his own.

'Oh my god... Oh my god... Oh my god...' was all his brain could muster.

Faintly, he could hear Iruka-sense's voice somewhere above him... He panicked. He couldn't let himself be seen like this! Not to mention the whole class- ack! And Sakura! And Kiba, and Shikamaru and- he paled- Gaara!! He started to move to push Sasuke away regardless of the warmth, and pushed himself up to do so, when Sasuke's mouth began to move against his...

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Involuntarily, his mouth opened to admit the questing tongue inside. He couldn't think- it was all too fast, like a film being fast forwarded- blurry, confusing and out of control. But curiously, the only thing ringing in his mind during the roller coaster whirl of emotions- was that Sasuke smelled like strawberries. Mind boggling, but he faintly remembered seeing a bottle of strawberry body wash in Sasuke's bathroom. It was a stupid thing to remember at a time like that- even Naruto was baffled.

Finally, Sasuke pulled away. Naruto opened his eyes (since when had he closed them?) and looked up dazedly at the Uchiha's dark, strangely clear eyes. He felt the blush on his cheeks at the feral look Sasuke was giving him, and quickly looked away.

"Sasuke? Naruto?" Iruka worriedly tried again. "Are you two alright?"

Naruto blinked and peered over Sasuke's shoulder to look at Iruka-sensei. He managed a weak smile at the man's relieved face and waved feebly.

The whole class sighed in relief.

"All right, you gave us quite a scare there." Iruka jovially said. "Come on, Sasuke. Up! Don't want Naruto to suffocate, now, do we?"

"Yeah, Sasuke... Get off me." Naruto whispered.

Sasuke was still looking at him seriously. He leaned forward again.

"Wait... no..." Naruto shut his eyes. Was he going to kiss him again? Should he move away? Should he let him? His heart was throbbing almost painfully against his chest... He felt like it would burst. Sparks of electricity ran through his veins as he felt the now familiar brush of velvet lips on his ears.

"You're important to me too..."

And then he was gone.

Naruto blinked open his eyes confusedly as his vision cleared. He almost felt sorry for the loss of the comforting warmth against his, and tried to look around for the Uchiha. Sasuke was moving away from him, walking with frustrating confidence back towards his original partner- a certain pale brunette who had the hots for dark haired Uchiha's.

It took quite a while for the implication of Sasuke's words to sink in his head, but when it did- he nearly yelled. Sasuke had heard! Sasuke heard what he had told Itachi... The blonde felt his cheeks heating up, and his hand unconsciously went up to touch his still tingling lips. Sasuke kissed him. Sasuke kissed him right there, in front of the whole class... If possible, his face heated up even more.

"Naruto..."

The blonde looked up shakily at the approaching redhead, his heart giving an uncomfortable jolt at the sight of his grim face.

"Er- hi, Gaara."

Gaara just looked at his flushed face and raised a brow.

"Why are you blushing?"

Naruto coughed self-consciously. "What are you talking about? C-come on, I think I got the steps already..."

Gaara looked highly doubtful. "It didn't look that way to me."

Naruto tried not to show how shaky he was and jumped back to his feet nonchalantly. "Yeah? Well, what did look like to you then?"

"It looked like you were kissing."

Naruto yelped. "WHAT?!"

Gaara looked at him funny. "I was joking."

Naruto tried to ignore the way his heart was pounding. "Well great. The time when raccoon-guy here decides to be funny, that's when he isn't."

"Not all of us are blessed with the talent to make a fool out of ourselves." Gaara quipped.

"What was that, you scrawny, black eyed mink?" Naruto looked at him sourly.

"Get back into position!" Iruka called from beside his tape player. "Let's do this one last time, okay? And positions!"

Naruto grumbled, obediently falling into place and placing his hands on Gaara's shoulder. The red head allowed a smirk to play on his face and Naruto stuck out his tongue at him. But deep inside, he was really utterly relieved. It seemed no one had noticed their liplock... which was good. Naruto couldn't bear to think of the consequences if anyone had seen it. Just think of all the fangirls that would be going for his blood! Naruto shuddered. No. It was best this way.

But then, as the resounding notes of the waltz started, he couldn't help thinking back to the accidental, and yet not so accidental kiss he and a certain dark haired boy shared not a few minutes ago... If he weren't so busy feeling shocked or panicking about whether or not they would be seen- he might have even enjoyed it...

Naruto bit his lip. He did not just think that...

The wheels of fate was turning... spinning... and he couldn't to anything to stop it. Naruto wondered where this path would lead him- where the whirlwind of conflicting emotions would land him in. He was already in wonderland- did he really want to be whisked away to Oz?

And as the music faded away to the background, He looked up at the ceiling, where the paint cracked off he walls and the fluorescent light glared slightly down at him, as if admonishing him for daydreaming...

What he wouldn't give for a hint... He wished sorely for a sign that would lead him out of this mess...

--

* * *

--

"CHEERS!"

Naruto blinked down at his own can of (three guesses what?) Orange soda- its bold, orange letters screaming out in crazy burst of colors. Kiba had been the one to initiate the toast, and although no one knew what exactly for, they had followed the lead and raised up their own cans of whatever it is they had been drinking.

"So what exactly are we toasting for?"

That was Rock Lee.

"I don't know, maybe something big happened." Chouji shrugged, digging into his plate of pasta.

"Way to go, captain obvious." Said Kiba, raising his can of grape soda. "This is to the greatest blooper Konoha High has seen this week!"

Naruto began to realize what this was all about, and gripped his can to suppress the blush threatening to spill to his cheeks.

"Kiba!"

"So you're the one, huh?" Rock Lee laughed, pushing his plate away for the mean time. "Tell us what happened."

"What do you mean, I was the one?" Naruto cried.

"It's a tradition." Kiba grinned, spreading out his hands and nearly knocking Shino's sunglasses from his face. "Whoever manages to make a scene in class- that's called a blooper, by the way- will tell it to the gang and toast about it! And then, by the end of the week, we compare bloopers and the winner- that's the one with the biggest blooper- will have to throw a party!"

"What?!" Naruto cried, incredulous.

"It's true." Shikamaru mumbled from where he was sitting, slowly munching on his fries. "So far, Kiba here has thrown a total of eleven parties."

"B-but," Naruto protested. "What happens when no one has a blooper for that week?"

"That's impossible." Rock Lee pompously said.

Shino silently agreed.

"And Naruto, ol' boy," Kiba grinned. "If my brain serves me correctly, you have the biggest blooper out of all of us."

"How come we've never done this before?" Naruto demanded, trying to think of a way out of the party throwing. No way would he be able to get the time to throw one! The Cook would have a fit if he went missing any more time than necessary!

Kiba paused for a while.

"I don't know, why haven't we?" He turned to look at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shrugged. "There wasn't much of a big blooper that was worth mentioning."

"Right." Kiba nodded, turning back to Naruto. "So how about it? Party at your place next week?"

"I can't!" Naruto blurted out.

His exclamation was so loud, a few heads around the cafeteria turned curiously to regard him. Kiba and the rest of the gang (excluding Shino of course- one never really knows what he's thinking) looked taken aback by his outburst. Shikamaru dropped his French fry.

"I- I mean..." Naruto stuttered, feeling his heart beat erratically for the hundredth time that day. "I can't throw a party at my place b-because I'm, uh, living with relatives!"

It WAS true, anyway.

"My aunt is really strict, and, uh, they're all really grouchy so, having a party there would be like- I don't know, suicidal?"

At least, suicidal for me... Naruto thought.

"Oh." Kiba paused. "Well that's not a problem... I think."

"Of course not." Lee declared, thumping Naruto encouragingly on the back. "We'll just have it elsewhere! After all, the world is a large place! Surely, we can find somewhere to accommodate us."

"Yeah, mate." Kiba readily agreed. "No sweat. I know! Let's have it at that place you keep telling me about! What was it? Itchy-something..."

"Ichiraku's." Naruto mumbled.

"Right. There."

Shikamaru picked up his fallen fries. "It must be troublesome." He began, staring at the flustered blonde. "To be living with such strict relatives."

Naruto felt uncomfortable. "Yeah, well..."

"You must be under a lot of pressure, Naruto-kun!" Lee cried, nodding his head in sympathy. "One must be free to enjoy the joys of youth!"

"Uh, yeah..." Naruto felt horrible, lying to his friends like that... Friends who have been truly sincere with him for the first time in his life... But he couldn't just tell them the truth... He just couldn't.

"So it's settled then." Said Kiba. "We'll have that party at Ichiraku's next week." He elbowed Shino. "And you're not allowed to miss it."

Shino glared- or something of the sort. "I won't."

Shikamaru had been watching Naruto all this time, and immediately noticed the sudden, uncharacteristic silence of the usually hyperactive blonde. Something wasn't right. His instincts were telling him something was definitely off. And if there was one thing Shikamaru trusted with his life- it was his instincts.

But then again, he wasn't one to pry... Hn. He stood up as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang, shoving the last of his fries to into his mouth. Naruto would tell them what he wants to tell them... all in due time. He cared enough to admit that the blonde concerned him quite a bit- but it was in his nature to sit back and wait... Wait and observe. Five minutes of observation can save your life- he read that somewhere. And besides, after all, nothing is what it seems to be at first.

Naruto slowly dragged his feet, tuning out the loud chattering of Kiba beside him as they made their way back to the classrooms. He still felt horrible for blatantly lying to his friends... True, it saved him from some major predicaments... but is this how his life was going to be from now on? A life full of lies he would build around himself? He didn't want that...

Naruto was so out of it he didn't notice that he was going the wrong way. The blonde looked up to find himself in a deserted corridor- an unfamiliar one.

"What?" Naruto blinked, looking confusedly around. "Where is everyone? Scratch that- where am I?"

He looked around for a sign that would tell him where he was. His gloomy mood turned even darker as he realized he got lost once again. Great. Way to go Uzumaki. How stupider can you get?

"My life sucks." Naruto sighed loudly, absently glancing up at the room number of the door across him. "Three oh one?"

I'm in the third floor?? Naruto wondered incredulously.

"Naruto?"

Naruto whisked around, his eyes wide. "Neji?"

The long haired Hyuuga looked mildly surprised. "What are you doing in the third floor?"

"I-" Naruto looked down. "I don't know."

"Did you get lost?"

"Uh..."

Neji looked concerned. He noticed how the blonde was hesitant to speak- so uncharacteristic of him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Naruto finally looked up to smile at him. "No big."

"I see." Neji looked highly doubtful. "So how are you?"

"Spiffing." Naruto replied. "A lot's happening, you know?"

"Yes, that I know." Neji agreed. "How did that club screening go? Did you get in?"

Naruto's smile froze a bit. Oh yeah... he almost forgot about that.

"Er- no." Naruto laughed sheepishly. "One thing led to another- and, well, I'm now on the soccer team."

Neji's eyes widened a fraction. "Really, now?"

"Yeah."

"The Uchiha's doing, I suppose?"

"Partly." Naruto agreed, starting to look a bit chipper. "But really, I blame that old Hag with the really big breasts."

Neji blinked. "Tsunade-san?"

"Yeah, her." Naruto huffed. "She's got some nerve, don't you think?"

"Well, she is a bit stubborn." Neji slowly said, trying not remember last year's Gym class where she had his class nearly begging for mercy. "Nothing to worry about though." Not really.

"We'll see." Naruto crossed his arms. "At first I was going to storm to her office and make her see things my way, see? But then I thought I'd give it a shot and prove them- the soccer team, wrong! I'm going to be the best thing that ever happened to them since sliced bread!"

Neji smiled. "You do that."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned. He stretched his arms enthusiastically.

"Hey, Neji..." the blonde sighed. "Thanks a lot."

"Whatever for?"

"I don't know... but talking to you made me feel a lot better! I don't know why..." The blonde shrugged sheepishly. "But I'm really glad."

Neji's eyes softened and he offered the blonde a gentle pat on the shoulder. "You're very welcome, Naruto. I've noticed you weren't looking so good... If you want to talk about anything, anything at all, just pop around the SC room... I'll hear you out."

Naruto beamed at him. "All right. Thanks, Neji."

"Anytime." Neji replied. "Now, I think we're running a bit late... the bell rang five minutes ago."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What?! Oh no! We've got Asuma-sensei next! He'll give me detention!"

He quickly sprinted towards the staircase-

"Bye Neji! Thanks a million!!"

Neji blinked at the blonde's quickly disappearing figure. He waved a goodbye and was about to walk towards his own classroom when he noticed something on the floor.

"Oh, Naruto..." he called out.

The blonde was gone.

"You dropped your wallet..."

--

* * *

**Waltz**- originated in Austria where it was adapted from peasant dances. The American waltz is slow, with the time signature 3/4, the accent being on the first beat or downbeat.

**Promenade**- Partners stand facing each other but are turned in a 45 degree to face their clasped hands.

**Chasse**- sideward step on to the ball of the foot, the other foot closing beside it.

**First position**- it is the standard position in dancing, feet together with the toes pointing away from each other.


	17. Howl

AN:

To my darling readers,

I know you are all probably pretty mad at me, and I don't blame you darlings one teeny bit. ducks for cover but please do not hate me! I promised that I wouldn't abandon this fic, and I stick to my word. I'm having dratted computer problems, and god knows how bitchy that could be. I'm so mad sometimes I want to throw my shoe at the monitor screen. Haha. You see, I've written chapters 17 and 18 already, and I was all ready to post it up, but suddenly- GASP! It crashed! My Fcking God it fcking CRASHED! I was ready to strangle myself, darlings. That's how frustrated I was. --

But anyway, after a week of brooding, I decided to give it one more shot, and here it is. Although the quality might seem 'eh' since it's really tiring having to write the same thing over and over again, I hope you dears like it.

So anyway, let's get on with the show. I'm terribly sorry this is all I've got to offer you, and I fear it will take a while for the next update- but like I promised, I aint giving up on this just yet.

Cheers!

cookie

* * *

--

**Howl**

"All I do is howl at the stars.

I aint got the guts to jump to them."

Renji

--

* * *

"If anyone hurts you-"

"I go straight to you. Yes, I know, mommy."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gaara glanced at the blond. "You still have that other thing-"

"Yes, Gaara. I'm sure." Naruto gave him a look that clearly said: There is no 'other thing'! Remember?

"Hn."

They carried on their trek towards the grassy soccer field, where a handful of athletes were already warming up. Naruto suppressed the odd flipping in his stomach and stuffed the butterflies fluttering there in a canister and attempted to throw it to the deepest, darkest pit he could find.

He was virtually unsuccessful.

"I'm going to go change now." Gaara said.

Naruto glanced at him. "You do that."

"I'll be leaving you."

"Yes. Goodbye."

"Naruto-"

"Yes, Gaara. I know, Gaara." Naruto loudly said.

Gaara looked disgruntled. "I was going to say good luck."

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Thanks, man." He punched the redhead on the shoulder playfully. "But Uzumaki Naruto does not need luck!"

Gaara looked at him witheringly. "Say that to my face after practice is over."

"Sure thing." Naruto laughed loudly.

Gaara rolled his eyes and walked away towards the locker rooms. Naruto noted the direction for future reference. He looked down the field where the players helped each other stretch. He took in another deep breath.

"Okay, Uzumaki. You decided to do this, and you will. You're going to show all those losers what for, right? Right. Okay."

Naruto marched determinedly down the field, cautiously hovering by the bleachers where he could observe without being seen. Apparently, he wasn't being inconspicuous enough.

"You made it, brat."

Naruto looked up, meeting the grinning, smug face of Tsunade.

"Yeah, well..." he shuffled his feet.

"You're a little late though." she admonished lightly. "You're the manager now. You've got to come a little earlier than the rest of 'em."

She patted the seat beside her invitingly.

"Come on up here and I'll tell you 'bout your new job."

Naruto obediently climbed up the bleachers, warily taking a seat. Tsunade's ridiculously loud shirt with the Kanji characters screaming 'TEAMWORK!' did not help his edginess.

"So, brat-"

"Naruto." Naruto interrupted. "I have a name, old hag. Either you use it, or you lose me."

Tsunade grinned at him. "You have guts, kid. Hold on to it, you're gonna need it. Cuz it's going to be real painful."

Naruto snorted. "Bring it on. Trust me, I know pain."

Tsunade looked at him. "I'm sure you do."

A cheer erupted from the field below them, and both Tsunade and Naruto looked up to see what the commotion was about. The blond spotted Gaara standing in the center of the field, a smug smirk stretched across his lips. Apparently, he had just shot an impressive goal, getting past the three formidable looking defenders and the goalie.

"All right, GAARA!" Naruto cheered, waving at the red head. "You go kick ASS!"

Gaara's smirk widened.

"You seem to be in good terms with Gaara." Tsunade observed.

"Yeah well. He's a cool kid." Naruto shooed the redhead away with a grin. "We didn't hit off, at first. But it's cool."

"Ah."

Naruto continued to survey the field below them. They players had divided themselves equally into two teams and were starting up a practice game. Naruto recognized a few familiar faces. Konohamaru was currently down there, waving his arms around like some mad hooligan, and there was the blonde defender he knew not the name of, and- Naruto scowled- Davey.

He had to stop himself from sticking out his tongue as the said boy passed by. Naruto watched the players kick the ball around and quickly noticed that Konohamaru was as enthusiastic in the field as he was outside. He didn't really understand what the players were yelling at each other and he had no idea what their positions meant- but he figured out enough who was good and who basically sucked.

"Number 23's quick on his feet." Naruto commented offhandedly, still gazing at the game playing below him. "He'll be good up front where all the action is at."

He totally missed the glint in Tsunade's eyes.

"I've noticed." She agreed. "You mean as a striker, don't you?"

"Huh? Right. That. Whatever."

Tsunade looked pleased. "You have the eye boy. You're going to be a great help. It's your job to keep track of these things. Those that are good, the duds, the ones who miss practice, the ones who need practice and the ones who practice TOO much."

Naruto looked at her witheringly. "I have to do all that?"

"Yup." she grinned at him. "You have my permission to give extra laps to those that deserve 'em, extra hours to those that need 'em, Time-outs if they're really necessary, and even the power to kick someone off the team. Provided of course that Uchiha agrees with it."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Tsunade shrugged boredly. "I really don't care who gets in or out of the team, as long as they win. That's Sasuke's job. I'm just the coach."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You must have it really easy."

Tsunade ignored him.

"Like I said, you keep tabs on the team, and you record it down on a notebook. You get to be a secretary."

"Yipee."

"You are first to arrive, and last to leave." Tsunade continued. "Oh, and make sure these kids clean their lockers up before they go. You have my permission to whup them up good if they don't listen to you."

Naruto grinned at that. "I'll have your word for it."

Tsunade snickered. "Just don't beat them up TOO much, alright brat?"

"I'll try." Naruto offhandedly replied.

"Right." Tsunade ticked off a mental list. "It's your job to make sure there's enough water for the whole team after practice, and after every game. We have coolers in the locker room- you can check it out later. Oh, and towels. You have to have some handy for everyone, especially during a game. But you can make them wash it afterwards."

"Damn straight!" Naruto cried indignantly. "It's bad enough I get to be their personal Nanny! I'm not doing ANY one's laundry!"

"If you say so." Tsunade hid a smirk. "Oh yeah, and you've got to make sure there are enough balls to go around. Sometimes, practice gets held up cuz there aren't any balls. We suspect the volleyball team's been borrowing them, but we've never really had any proof..."

Naruto's head was getting dizzy with all the responsibilities.

"And you gotta clean them." Tsunade added. "Balls get pretty dirty after practices."

"Cant I make them clean the balls?" Naruto whined.

"If you want." Tsunade shrugged. "If you can." she corrected. "No one likes cleaning balls."

"They will now." Naruto grumbled.

"Well, I think that's about it. I'll just tell you anything else you need to do if I remember them."

"Gee, thanks." Naruto dryly said.

"Quiet, you." Tsunade ruffled his hair. Naruto let out an indignant squawk. "Better start on your duties now and go get them coolers. They'll be clamoring for water, soon. Make yourself familiar with the locker room while you're at it."

"I'm really not liking this." Naruto mumbled to himself.

"Hop to it."

"Yes ma'am." Naruto mocked saluted, standing up and making his way down to the locker room, grumbling all the way.

"Oh, and Naruto-"

Naruto glanced back at her. "What? Remembered something already?"

Tsunade ignored him. "Get Sabaku or even Uchiha to teach you the basics of the game. You're going to suck keeping tabs on them if you don't know a toot."

Naruto bristled. "Don't you think I know that? Geez!"

He continued stomping down the bleachers. He was too busy muttering to himself he didn't hear Tsunade laughing from above him.

"This is going to be an interesting year." Tsunade mused to herself, watching the blond trip on the last step of the bleacher. Her grin widened as he let loose a stream of colorful words. "A VERY interesting year."

"Keeping tabs... make like a nanny... a fucking secretary... bah." Naruto muttered. "Why am I doing this again?"

He banged along the corridors leading towards the locker rooms and slipped inside the door. Despite his glum mood, he couldn't help but feel impressed at the size of the room. It was well equipped too.

"Nothing less for the honorable Soccer team." Naruto sarcastically said, touching the shiny cover of the extensive First aid kit. It even had an inhaler, for goodness sake.

He ran his eyes over the many lockers rowed neatly against each other, with the specific numbers shining on the center of each one. He set about looking for the said coolers.

"Come on out, coolers..." Naruto murmured to himself. "Coolers... Coolers… If I were a cooler, where would I hide?"

Naruto turned around the corner to the other side of the room and abruptly stopped short. All bodily functions temporarily stopped as well. His eyes widened as he felt the blood rush to his cheeks. One of the locker doors was hanging open- and the man behind it was none other than Sasuke Uchiha, who was currently putting on his block number shirt. Naruto had glimpsed a pale, toned chest, and flat, washboard stomach- and it did nothing to his already frayed nerves. He stood watching Sasuke put on the rest of his gear, as if hypnotized, while his mind wandered back to that morning's conversation with Kiba in the classroom...

**--FLASHBACK--**

"He KISSED you?.!."

"SHH!!" Naruto hissed, glaring at the shock still boy. "Pipe down, Kiba! There's probably a few people within a hundred mile radius who didn't hear you!"

Kiba would not have it.

"He kissed you!" he continued loudly, incredulous. "A guy!! In CLASS!"

Naruto yanked him back down to his seat, laughing nervously at the curious stares they were receiving.

"Haha! Nothing to see here, folks! He's just being an idiot, as always!"

Kiba was still too shocked to be insulted. "He KISSED you." He repeated incoherently.

"He didn't KISS me." Naruto insisted, cursing the blush dusting his cheeks. "It's more like- we kissed- definitely by accident of course! You saw what happened."

"Yeah, I did." Kiba whispered. "I actually DID! You and Uchiha were playing tonsil hockey in front of the whole fucking CLASS and I actually SAW it! FUCK!"

"You didn't really... SEE anything... did you?" Naruto's eyes widened fearfully.

"Naw." Kiba waved a hand. "I didn't. But still!"

A sigh of relief.

"So does that mean you're gay?"

"What?" Naruto looked at him incredulously.

"You kissed a dude- you liked it. Don't that make you gay?" Kiba pointed out.

"No. Maybe. I don't know." Naruto sighed.

"You don't know?" Kiba repeated. "Tell me something, dude. Did you ever, you know, like somebody? Puppy love don't count."

"Like, as in, like, like?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "No. Elephant like. Of COURSE that like."

"No." Naruto huffed. "Never."

And it was true. He had never been interested in anyone, not even in his old school back in the country. It wasn't very hard to see why. The girls there were never appealing to him, and he had Sakura to blame for that...

"I never really thought about it much." Naruto explained thoughtfully. "Most of the time, I was too busy trying to avoid-"

He paused.

"Avoid?" Kiba pressed.

"Nothing." Naruto easily flipped a dismissing hand. "Fan girls."

He almost laughed out loud. Fan girls... bah. More like, girls who wanted nothing more than to have him disappear from their line of sight. It seemed Kiba did not believe him either.

"So... no girl of your dreams?"

"Nope."

"Hmm..." Kiba poked his chin thoughtfully. "How about wet dreams?"

"KIBA!"

"What?"

Naruto shook his head balefully. "Don't you have ANY shame?"

"No."

The blond sighed. "That's what I thought."

"So, girls are out of the question. That leaves the guys-"

"I've never had a crush on guys, either!" Naruto protested.

"Oh." Kiba paused. "Are you human?"

Naruto glared at him.

"Okay, okay. So maybe you are." Kiba raised his hands.

"Maybe?!"

"Maybe you don't have preferences." Kiba continued, tapping his chin. "Maybe you're asexual."

Naruto shrugged. "It seems that way."

"But still, the blokes..."

"What about them?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Kiba help up his hands. "I just have to ask, do you like someone right now?"

Naruto began to feel uncomfortable. "Define 'like'..."

"Crush. Infatuation? You know? The other end of Cupid's arrow?"

Naruto's expression turned curious. "Were you reading Shakespeare?"

Kiba gave him a look. "No."

"Where do you come up with your shit?"

"You know, I asked Shikamaru the same question..."

"And?"

"And you're avoiding the question." Kiba pointed out. "Come on, Naruto. Spill."

"I don't know..." Naruto vaguely replied.

"Liar." Kiba said knowingly. "I can smell it a mile away."

"Good boy." Naruto sarcastically said.

"Aw, come on." Kiba whined. "You're hiding way too many secrets, Naruto. Aren't we supposed to be buds?"

Naruto winced. Argh, the guilt! The guilt!!

"Don't buddies tell each other these things?" Kiba pressed. "I won't tell. You know I won't."

"W-well... I, er-" Naruto stammered. "I kinda thought... you know... that he aint all that bad..."

"Who?"

Naruto mumbled something.

"What?" Kiba leaned in, cupping a hand to his ear. "Sorry, didn't get that, buddy."

"...Sasuke."

"HAH!" Kiba crowed, grinning triumphantly. "I knew it! I just KNEW it!"

"Shut up, Kiba!" Naruto groaned, covering his face with his hands.

He couldn't believe he just admitted that out loud. It was all too fast! Barely a week ago, he realized with a shock that he was attracted to a guy... A guy by the name of Uchiha Sasuke! The very next day, he receives his first, mind-blowing kiss by the very same, said Uchiha Sasuke! And now, he was telling Kiba he had a crush on the almighty, drop dead gorgeous UCHIHA bloody SASUKE!

Naruto groaned.

"Hey come on, it IS funny." Kiba grinned at him. "After all, you two aren't exactly the most friendly, most compatible people in the whole world. You had me thinking all along that you couldn't stand his sorry looking face."

"I still cant." Naruto muttered through his fingers.

"Sure, I believe you." Kiba snorted. "Which reminds me," he snapped his fingers. "You know, last week? I was walking down this street, see, and this dude bumped into me- who d'you think it was but your beloved Uchiha?"

"He is NOT my beloved Uchiha!" Naruto gritted out.

"So anyway, I was all weirded out and all, and then he asked me something even weirder: He asked if I had seen you."

Naruto looked up curiously. "When did you say this was again?"

"I don't know- Saturday?" Kiba scratched his head. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Ah."

Naruto rested his cheek on his hand. That was the time when...

"So, did you get to see him?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah... I did."

"And?"

Naruto raised a brow at the expectant look on Kiba's face. "And what?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "What did he want?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing much."

"Did he hurt you?" Kiba suddenly looked concerned. The blond's hand WAS wrapped in bandages after all. Honestly, the look on his face when he saw it... "Was he the one who did that to you?"

"No." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I did this to myself. Clumsy me."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure."

"Oh well, in that case..." Kiba's tone turned teasing. "Are you sure there isn't anything you're not telling me that I should know about?"

Naruto scowled. "Go jump in a lake, Kiba."

"Ooh, defensive!" Kiba chortled. "Are you DEFINITELY sure that kiss during dance class was accidental?"

Naruto's face heated up.

"KIBA!!"

Kiba laughed so much he fell over his seat. Naruto refused to help him up.

"Oh man, what a hoot..." Kiba wiped tears from his eyes. "This is CRAZY, man."

"Tell me about it." Naruto muttered.

"I mean, of all the people you can get your first crush on," Kiba heaved himself up to his seat. "You just HAD to crush on the richest, snottiest, most sought after asshole in the whole fucking school!"

"Oh, rub it in, why dontcha?"

"Not to mention, he's your lab partner." Kiba ticked off his fingers. "AND, he sits like, right behind you during class, and- Holy crap! You're now the MANAGER of HIS soccer team!"

Naruto allowed his forehead to hit the flat surface of his desk.

"Keep it coming, Inuzuka. Keep it coming." He sighed miserably. "Say it, man. I'm doomed."

"You're doomed." Kiba promptly said.

His only reply was the one on Naruto's middle finger.

"Maybe you're Uchiha-sexual." Kiba loudly said.

Naruto raised his head to look at him. "Say what?"

"You can't be asexual if you like someone." Kiba reasoned out. "So you're either gay, or you're Uchiha-sexual. And I go for the latter one."

"Why are you so interested, anyway?" Naruto demanded. "And how come you aren't questioning Sasuke's sexuality?"

Kiba shrugged. "I've always thought SOME thing was wrong with him."

Naruto's head gave out. "Whatever, Kiba." He mumbled. "Just… Whatever."

Kiba was drumming his fingers on the table, obviously deep in thought. Naruto ignored him.

"So, how are you going to win him? Any plans?"

Naruto choked. "Excuse me?"

"You don't have a plan yet? Do you need help?"

"No, I don't want help!" Naruto snapped, blushing.

"Oh, I get it." Kiba knowingly said. "You're going to lure him into bed, aren't you? I'm game with that."

"KIBA!!"

"What, that's not it?" Kiba innocently asked.

"Shut up!"

"Don't tell me you aren't going to do anything about it!" Kiba stubbornly said. "Pining for him won't do anything, Naruto! You've got to take ACTION!"

Naruto stared at him incredulously. "You HAVE been reading Shakespeare!" he accused.

"No, I haven't."

"You have!" Naruto cried. "And I don't want it! Don't go corrupting me with your beastly sonnets and fucking odes of love!"

Kiba looked insulted. "Are you saying I read those junk?"

"Yeah!"

"What junk?"

Naruto and Kiba both jumped in their seats. Gaara stood behind them, patiently waiting for an answer from the two of the noisiest people in existence. Sometimes, he wondered if it was healthy for the two to stick together like that...

"Gaara!" Naruto cried, paling a bit. "H-how long have you been there?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really." Naruto watched the redhead put down his bag and take his seat. "What did you hear?"

"Something about you doing something about something." Gaara glanced briefly over at Kiba, who was shooting Naruto a significant look. "...and Shakespeare."

Naruto laughed. Gaara's attention was now on Kiba, who was wiggling his eyebrows at Naruto in what he supposed was a discreet manner.

"What are you doing?" He flatly said.

Kiba jumped. "Huh? Oh, I was just wondering if you knew-" He caught the strangled look Naruto was shooting him. "Apparently not."

"Knew what?" Gaara's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"That Kiba is stupid!" Naruto interrupted. "Screw that, did you do your math homework? Can I see it?"

"No."

**--END FLASHBACK--**

"Stop staring, dobe. It isn't becoming."

Naruto snapped painfully back into reality, and was met with the smug smirk of the Uchiha. He realized with a pang that he had been caught staring.

"Wh-who's staring? Don't flatter yourself!" Naruto retorted.

Sasuke raised a brow and shut his locker door. "I'll let that slide. What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for the coolers." Naruto replied glumly.

"Ah." Sasuke pointed behind him. "They're in that cabinet."

Naruto blinked behind him. "Uh, thanks."

He turned around and opened the cabinet doors. He immediately spotted the said coolers- it was hard to miss them, being an ugly mustard color.

"Ugh." Naruto wrinkled his nose. "This needs a make over."

"That's what I told Tsunade."

Naruto glanced over at him. Sasuke was pulling on his shin gear, his back towards the blond. Naruto quickly looked away. He opened the cooler lid and sniffed inside. He made a face.

"Maybe I'll give it a bath while at it, later."

"Hn."

Naruto's hand hovered over the cooler handles, their accidental kiss flashing through his mind, and Kiba's voice ringing in his head. He bit his lip.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke looked up from his shoes. "What?"

Naruto took a deep breath and turned around to face him. "About that day..."

Sasuke's expression immediately became guarded. "It was just a kiss, dobe. Don't let it bother you."

Naruto felt a pang in his heart. Just a kiss?!

"It doesn't bother me!"

Sasuke turned back to tying his shoelaces. "Then what's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter!" Naruto snapped. "Forget it. This is stupid. You're such an ASSHOLE! Ugh!"

Naruto turned to leave.

"Why are you so angry?"

The blond glared back at the Uchiha who was looking at him with mixed curiosity and... something. He did not recognize it. Naruto was bothered with the question. Why WAS he so mad?

'Oh i don't know,' said a voice in his head. 'Maybe you got irritated because the kiss didn't seem as important to him...' Naruto quickly gagged the voice, choked it with some packing tape and threw it in a closet.

"I'm not angry." Naruto glumly said, looking away.

Sasuke gazed at him for the longest time. Naruto began to feel extremely stupid. He quickly grabbed the cooler and made his way over to the built in sink near the locker entrance. He refused to look around as he immersed himself in the task of washing the plastic containers. However, he could not stop his other senses from doing their ordained jobs as he heard the Uchiha finish up and toss something inside his locker. He fixed his eyes on the water running down the sides of the plastic cooler as he heard the Uchiha's footsteps nearing.

Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him, Naruto's mind chanted, as he viciously scrubbed at the cooler. His hands made ridiculous slippery, wet noises against the plastic.

He nearly dropped the large container as he felt an arm wrap around his waist, warm lips descending to his ear. Again, flashes of the kiss invaded his mind.

"I meant what I said." came the hot whisper.

And then he was gone.

Just like that day, he disappeared so quickly Naruto wondered if he had imagined it. He stood rooted to the spot, as the water flowed to his hands. He could almost feel the small smile that crept up his face as he realized what those words meant. The wound in his heart was soothed.

'You're important to me too...'

Naruto shook his head.

"Sasuke, you jackass."


	18. Dig

AN:

To my darling readers of TWTS:

I am alive!

It gives me unending joy to finally present to you chapter 17! This is a glorious event, haha... I've been having a lot of troubles lately, and as you can see, I haven't been able to update for soooooo long. I won't even attempt to beg for your forgiveness, because I don't think I deserve it. Sniff! But anyway, I still stick to my promise to continue this for you guys, and although I cannot promise furious updates like before, I am still fighting to carry on. Huzzah!

Anyway, a million thanks to those who reviewed. Honestly, you guys are my only source if inspiration left. Please DO take time to drop a critique or two (even a note is very much appreciated) and I swear I'll love you the world for it. It means a lot to authors you know? And I wont tire of ever saying it. XD

So anyway, enough of my long rant- I figured I had you guys waiting for long enough. So, without further ado, I present to you the next chapter of TWTS. I hope you find your way to the stars!

Love lots,

cookie.

* * *

--

**Dig**

"Everyday, I'm a fool,

digging my grave and falling in..."

-Arashi

--

* * *

Naruto kept in a tired sigh as he moved sluggishly along the locker room. Finally, he could go home now. After an hour of cleaning after those pig-like athletes, Naruto was more than ready to leave. He swore to himself to drill some manners into those people. Lately, he had been referring to the players as "those people" or "the other people." It was his way of sulking. Certainly, flushing the toilets after doing one's business wasn't part of his job, was it?

Naruto did a once over to the now clean locker room, nodding his head in satisfaction. Great. Time to go... But then his ears picked up a sound, and he blinked in confusion at the direction of the showers. He could hear running water... Was there still someone there?

He padded over to the source of the sound and noted the lights were on. He frowned. Who in their right minds would still be here at this hour, taking a shower? Naruto tiptoed his way in the shower room and peered over the tiled wall. He nearly fell over in shock.

Sleek black hair and firmly sculpted body- It can't be!

Naruto pressed against the wall, forcing his heart to calm down.

"Oh god... Oh god..." he murmured, getting angry with himself for getting so flustered. What the HELL?! It was just a body- a freaking hot and gorgeous body. He'd been seeing bodies all afternoon, so why does this particular one have to be any different? Naruto schooled himself and counted to three. Slowly, begrudgingly, he wrapped his fingers around the wall and peered once again over to the showers.

Oh my GOD.

Naruto felt his mouth run dry as his eyes unconsciously washed over the pale figure swathed in the moonlight that came from god knows where... There weren't even any windows around here. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the smooth hard planes, watching the water slither almost seductively down the washboard stomach and- Naruto slapped himself, willing his eyes to go up, up, up I say!

Sasuke was currently not moving, seemingly in deep thought of some sort. The water rained on him, pounding onto his shoulders with a steady rhythm, lulling him into deeper meditation. Standing still like that, bathed in the moonlight, he looked like a god... An Achilles… A forbidden being that emanated silent strength and raw power. He looked untouchable… like poetry or a painting... Beauty that is appreciated, but never obtained.

Naruto was torn between his duty to tell the Uchiha to stop wasting water and go home, and his desire to continue watching the still form. Gah, what was he saying? Of course he had to wake the Uchiha from his dramatics. And that meant NOW! Move, Uzumaki. Bitchslap that bastard if you have to- don't let his wet, sexy image- (Shut up, brain!) corrupt your mind any longer. Go on… MOVE!

"H-hey Uchi- ACK!"

In the midst of his internal beatings and silent turmoil, Naruto had totally forgotten where he was and the fact that the floor was hazardously wet and very, very slippery.

"Ooh..."

God DAMN. He swore he was seeing stars. He felt the pain blossoming from his right shoulder, traveling across his back to his rear. Stupid floor. Stupid wet floor. Stupid bathroom with the stupid wet floor. It was then, of course, that he noticed the shower had stopped running, and that he could hear soft footsteps padding over to where he lay sprawled across the floor.

"Dobe..."

Naruto blinked up to see his line of vision filled with Sasuke's dark form. In the faint light, he could make out a smug smirk stretched across those annoyingly pouty lips. Naruto felt his voice jam in his throat as Sasuke slowly leaned in. He closed his eyes helplessly, wondering and hoping and going insane. Was he going to...?

"Dobe..." came the sinfully low tenor whispering in his ear. "If you wanted to see me naked, you could have just asked…"

Naruto's eye snapped open and his throat unjammed as a scream ricocheted its way out. He gathered what strength he had left in his jelly-like arms and pushed the Uchiha away, screaming, and screaming, and screaming-

What?

Naruto blinked confusedly at the poster of Rock Jam Phantom taped across his bedroom wall. It took a few seconds for him to register his arms hanging in mid-air, still in the action of pushing Uchiha away-

Naruto's eyes widened.

Oh GOD.

He looked around wildly and recognized his bedroom, assuring himself that he was indeed in his bed, sleeping just a minute ago, and most definitely not inside the Konoha locker room, pinned on the floor by Uchiha fucking Sasuke. He swallowed, thoughtfully putting his arms down and forcing his racing heart to calm down.

Okay, reality check.

He was here, in his room, all safe albeit a little freaked out. He was NOT up late cleaning after those people, and he was NOT captivated by some freak taking a shower, and he had NOT- let's say that again, NOT been pinned to the ground by said freak who just HAD to take a freaking shower in the middle of the night with the freaking moonlight shining through from the non-existing windows.

Naruto let out a strangled whimper as he cradled his head in his hands. It was just a dream... a dream... He just had a fucking wet dream goddamit!!

Unable to take it, he jumped out of the bed and padded out of his bedroom, striding purposely towards the telephone at the end of the hall. Quickly but quietly, he jammed the number he had at the top of his head and willed the phone to start ringing.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

"Come on, pick up... pick up..." Naruto prayed.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-

"..."

"Kiba!" Naruto hissed into the mouthpiece as loudly as he dared. "Kiba, it's Naruto!!"

"...Who?"

Naruto impatiently waited for the boy to stop his incoherent mumblings. "Wake up! I've got to talk to you!"

"Uh... it's currently 2 o'clock in the bloody morning, Mr. Sand-person..." Kiba droned sleepily. "Cant this wait? I don't think my brain wants to cooperate..."

"I just had a fucking dream!"

"...Yeah... Me too…"

"I had a dream about Sasuke!"

"Hmmm..." Kiba mumbled sleepily into the phone. "Me too..."

"We were in a locker room, and the shower was on! And he was naked! And I was- Gawd! Kiba, are you listening?!"

"No..."

"I had a wet dream about Sasuke!"

It was like a chord had snapped, and immediately, Kiba was wide awake.

"Hold that thought!" Kiba yelled, sitting up straighter in his bed and switching on his bedside lamp. "Say that again, I thought I heard you say you had a wet dream about Uchiha."

"Are you finally awake now?" Naruto said dryly.

"Yes, no thanks to you."

"What am I gonna do Kiba? I can't believe I just had a dream about Sasuke. About Sasuke NAKED!"

"Whoa! I DID hear right!" Kiba cried incredulously.

"Shut up and answer me!" Naruto demanded.

"Well, what do you mean what are you gonna do? There's nothing you CAN do." Kiba pointed out.

"How am I going to face him?" Naruto whispered frantically. "How am I going to talk to him? God, how am I going to survive the lab experiment tomorrow with him?!"

"Calm down." Kiba loudly said. "I don't get what you're all worked up for. It's just a wet dream, man. Get over it. It happens."

"Well, it's never happened before!" Naruto protested.

"That's because you're Uchiha-sexual." Kiba rolled his eyes.

"This isn't normal, Kiba..." Naruto fretted, twisting the chord of the phone in his hands. "This is weird. This is freaky- God, this is SASUKE!

Kiba paused. "Are you scared?"

"I'm fucking terrified!" Naruto hissed. "I'm in love with a BOY, which is something entirely not normal, and to add to that- this is Sasuke fucking Uchiha we're talking about, which is purely damn suicide- AND to add even MORE to that, I have a fucking WET dream about him in the showers, pressing me down to the ground and- GAHH!"

"Calm down, Uzumaki!" Kiba yelled, practically feeling the spit showering through the mouthpiece at Naruto's attempt to hiss the phone off his ear. "You gotta listen to yourself, man. It's just a dream. It doesn't bite! Heck- it isn't even alive for pete's sake. Sure, seeing Uchiha in your dreams is ultimately scary for everybody, but keep your head on."

"Have you ever had wet dreams, Kiba?" Naruto desperately asked. "Have you had any wet dreams about guys??"

"Sure I have." Kiba rolled his eyes, leaning on his pillow on one arm. "Like I said, you're the abnormal one here."

"Who? Who was it?"

"Shino."

"What?!" Naruto yelled. "But Shino's our friend!"

"So?"

"How can you still face him?!"

"Why cant I?"

"D-don't you get embarrassed at all?"

"Nope." Kiba flopped down on his stomach. "He knows about it."

Naruto paused.

"He… what?"

"He knows about it." Kiba shrugged. "I mean, I told him about this dream I had, and he told me about this dream he had... In the end, it seemed we both had the same dream."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Naruto rubbed his temple. "You both had the same dream? Shino dreamed about you too?"

"That's what I said."

"Bizarre..."

"Tell me about it." Kiba grinned. "I thought it was pretty cool though."

"So... are you gay?" Naruto hesitantly asked.

"Maybe." Kiba flicked a non-existent mothball from his blanket. "I haven't really thought about it."

"Is... is Shino gay?"

"…Come to think of it, I don't know." Kiba tapped his chin. "Let's ask him tomorrow."

"NO!"

"What?"

"I mean," Naruto was flustered. "You can't just ask someone if they're gay!"

"I asked you." Kiba pointed out.

"That's not the point!" Naruto cried. "I'm different! I mean- I don't know- it's not normal!"

"I don't know if you're hearing yourself now, Naruto." Kiba said. "But Shino isn't really someone you can peg as normal. He collects bugs, for pete's sake. Now, if that isn't the most psychotic thing ever, I'd eat my dog."

Naruto ran out of words.

Silence.

"...Hello?"

"I'm still here..." Naruto forlornly replied.

"Yeah, okay..." Kiba waited for a few seconds. "Do you have anything to say anymore?"

"..."

"Okay, can I go back to sleep now?"

"I don't know what to do...

"Yeah, me too." Kiba agreed. "Should I just fuck it all and hung up on you, or should I be the good friend that I am, and stay up worrying about some dream with my ultra weird Uchiha-sexual friend?"

"I don't wanna go to school tomorrow..." Naruto whined.

"What a coincidence. Me too."

"I'm being serious here!"

"So am I."

Kiba sighed as Naruto once again fell into a petulant silence. "Look, take my advice and stop bitching over this. If it would make you feel better, I'll be your partner for the lab experiment tomorrow."

Naruto hesitated. "But what about soccer practice...?"

"That's not till after school, right?" Kiba stifled a yawn. "We'll worry about it when the sun is up, yeah?"

Naruto was doubtful.

"But what if I mess up tomorrow? What if I suddenly freak out on him? Do you think he'd notice if I acted strange? Oh god, do you think he'd know I had a dream about him? Do you think we had the same dream, like you and Shino? Shit! What if we DID have the same dream? He'd know that I had the same dream too! What am I gonna do, Kiba? Huh? What am I gonna do? Kiba!"

Naruto blinked, glancing bewilderingly at the receiver. It can't be...

"Kiba?" he tried. "Kiba, are you still there?"

"Zzzzzzzzzz……."

"Oh for-" Naruto cried, exasperated. "Thanks a lot, Kiba!"

"…"

Naruto sighed and hung up, staring at the black piece of contraption for a while as if waiting to be struck by inspiration. Well, to give the boy some credit, Naruto felt a lot calmer than he initially had been... If only for a while. He walked slowly back to his bedroom and slumped back into his bed. He glanced at is clock and cringed as the digital numbers glowed 3:41. It was already tomorrow, and he still wasn't ready to face the Uchiha... Naruto groaned. He never even attempted to go back to sleep... He knew it would evade him till he lost his mind trying. All he could do now is to wait for the sun to rise, and for the inevitable day to arrive.

* * *

--

**9:30 AM. Konoha Lab A. **

"150 ml ethyl alcohol... and 30 g of sodium. Put that into the dish... I said THIRTY GRAMS, wait! Dobe! Don't put that in now-!"

BOOM.

"…Oh."

"Usuratonkachi."

* * *

--

**9:45 AM. Konoha Lab A.**

"Do the math, dobe. I'll get the Hydrochloric acid."

A few minutes later...

"Hey, wait- NO! Don't mix those two together- Auurgh!"

KA-BOOM.

"…Oh."

"Usuratonkachi."

* * *

--

**10: 05 AM. Konoha Lab. A**

"Give me that. I don't trust you doing the measuring anymore."

Stir, stir. Bubble, bubble.

"Heat that up, and be CAREFUL."

Strike. Match. Lit... Simmer, simmer… Clink. Clank.

"Dobe! Pay attention to where you're pointing that test tube! Shit- you forgot to take the cork out! Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurgh!!"

BOOM! KA-BOOM! CRASH!!

"Fire! We're on fire!!"

"Don't just stand there! Put it out!"

"Okay! Okay!"

"IDIOT! Don't fan it- NO, WAIT! That's Ethyl Alchohol! Don't you DARE pour that over-"

"AAAAUUUUURRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!"

* * *

--

**11:00 AM. Konoha Office of Students Affairs and Delinquency.**

**Detention Room. **

Shuffle, shuffle.

Slap.

Silence...

Fidget, fidget.

Elbow.

"Ow."

"Thanks a lot, Dobe."

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"Of course you didn't."

"It wasn't my fault the alcohol was just standing there."

"Uh huh."

"Are you putting all the blame on me?!"

"Well, what else do you think?"

"This is your fault too!"

"Which part?!"

Naruto fell silent, trying his hardest to keep the blush from his cheeks. He was sticky, grouchy and damn exhausted, mentally and physically. After hours of tossing and turning in his bed, Naruto had spent the entire morning avoiding eye contact and fighting with his inner projector that was sending evil pictures of Sasuke wet, Sasuke naked and Sasuke smirking and Sasuke Sasuke Sasuke!

God! He was going mad! By the time Lab period came around, he was spaced out, tired and distracted. This was all Sasuke's fault… It was his entire fault that Naruto had become like this… How dare the guy ask him which part he was at fault in? How dare he!

"I can't take this anymore." Naruto mumbled.

"You know what? Me too." Sasuke griped out. "So why don't you just tell me why you're so out of it today. It's bad enough you cause our whole experiment to explode- I think you owe me an explanation, usuratonkachi!"

"I can't." Naruto gritted out.

"Why not?" Sasuke demanded, his temper rapidly dispersing.

"Because it's stupid."

"I've been dealing with enough of your stupid shit, dobe." Sasuke reminded him. "I think I can handle this one."

"Just leave me alone, teme!" Naruto yelled, his tone laced with desperation. His mind was breaking, and his emotions were all frayed. Why was Sasuke doing this to him?

"I can't just do that, you idiot!" Sasuke growled. "Tell me why you've been distracted like hell- you owe me this, dobe. You do!"

"Shut up-"

"Don't you go telling me to shut up." Sasuke barreled on, oblivious to the expression on Naruto's face. "I've had enough of trying to figure you out so help me GOD I want a straight answer for once-"

"All right, already!" Naruto yelled, finally losing his composure. "I dreamed about you, alright?! I dreamed about you naked, and WET! Pinning me down on the shower room and whispering all sorts of things in my ear! I'm sick, and I'm perverted! And I can't stop thinking about it!!"

Sasuke swallowed his retort and stared at the blonde in shock. Naruto's eyes were wild and his cheeks were flushed deep red. His fists were clenched in his sides and he was shaking…

"Why do you do this to me, Sasuke? Why?!" Naruto cried, feeling horrible and wretched and so damn helpless. "How come you destroy me like this?! I can't take it anymore!"

"Naruto..."

"You say sweet words to me, and then you insult me!" Naruto was on a roll. He couldn't stop the words from spilling out of his mouth. "You hurt me, then you soothe me! I hate you, but then I can't stop thinking of you! You fill my mind in the day, then you haunt my dreams at night! I'm going mad! You don't know what you're doing to me, you ASSHOLE! And then you ask me for an explanation?! Why do you do this to me, Sasuke?! I HATE YOU!"

Naruto clapped a hand to his mouth, his eyes widening in shock at what he just screamed out. Sasuke didn't know what to say. He was gaping at the hysterical blonde who was staring at him with such heartbreaking eyes. His hands reached out for the blonde but Naruto pushed them away.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled, looking somewhat lost and frightened. "I- I didn't know what came over me. I lost it- I..."

"Naruto?"

Naruto looked up at him with such frightened eyes, it was unsettling. Sasuke wrinkled his brows in concern.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" He kept mumbling,

"Dobe!" Sasuke yelled, getting uneasy. "Snap out it!"

"Don't hurt me…"

Sasuke felt like he was slapped in the face. He stared at the blonde who was cowering in his seat, shivering so violently the entire chair was vibrating. Naruto's eyes were wide and distant, as if lost in some unpleasant memory, and Sasuke grit his teeth as he remembered Naruto was a victim of violent child abuse. Something probably triggered the memory and now the blonde was cowering and shaking like a terrified child. Sasuke felt something within him break, and he felt a surge of hatred for the Haruno's and the Senior who did this to his blonde. He swore, right then and there, that he would get the blonde away from that hellhole. He would save him from the asshole, or he would die trying.

"Naruto... It's okay... I won't hurt you." Sasuke murmured, trying once more to reach out for the blonde.

He felt his heart break as Naruto flinched away from his touch. God... It hurt more than he thought...

"Naruto... It's me, Sasuke..."

"I promise I won't do it again... I promise I won't do it again..."

"Do what?" Sasuke murmured, slowly inching towards the shivering form. "Do what, Naruto?"

"I promise I won't bite you again..."

Sasuke froze.

Oh god...

"Naruto." Sasuke urgently whispered. "What do you mean by that? Did he force himself on you? Did he- FUCK."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto, who started crying, and held him tightly in his arms. He ignored the halfhearted flaying of arms and held on tight, hugging the boy tightly as if desperate to chase the pain and loneliness away.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I made you remember." Sasuke whispered. "I'm sorry for hurting you..."

Naruto balked, and then he stopped, hearing Sasuke's words as if for the first time.

"...Sasuke?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Sasuke repeated. "I promise I won't hurt you anymore..."

Naruto felt his head cleared bit by bit, but his tears would not stop flowing. He felt, more than saw, the pain in Sasuke's face, the desperation in the arms that wrapped around his smaller frame, and the sincerity in the promise Sasuke had just let go.

"Aw man..." Naruto thickly moaned after a while, his voice scratchy and hoarse. "I fucked up, huh?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sasuke quietly asked, still not letting go.

"You didn't have to know." Naruto whispered, closing his eyes and allowing Sasuke's warmth to comfort him. "I'm sorry you had to learn about it this way... God, I'm such a loser..."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke bitterly said. "How can you take this so lightly? You were abused, Naruto. Sexually and physically and god knows, psychologically. How can you still be here like this?"

"...I don't know, Sasuke. I don't know."

"What did he do to you?" Sasuke whispered, wiping at the tear tracks on the blonde's face. "What did the bastard to you?"

Naruto closed his eyes. "It wasn't that bad..." he softly murmured. "I was barely six when he started abusing me like that... I was too young to really remember anything..."

Sasuke cursed. Six?! He had been abused as early as SIX?!

"That BASTARD."

"I don't really remember much." Naruto assured him. "The worst he made me do was a head."

Sasuke got angrier and angrier at the flippant tone Naruto was using. How could he say that like that?! How could Naruto not feel any disgust?!

"Don't get me wrong." Naruto spoke up, seeing the dark and outraged look on the Uchiha's face. "It was horrible, and I almost lost it at one point. But I've resolved my issues and I've decided I wont be able to fight back till I'm eighteen and all legal to choose what I want to do. That's all that got me going."

"Naruto, you-"

"Don't pity me, Sasuke. Not now..." Naruto sighed, slowly pulling out of the embrace. "I've decided I won't let anyone pity me. I'm going to be strong, and I'm going to beat this."

Sasuke gazed at him silently, his expression unreadable. Naruto avoided his eyes and instead fixed his eyes on his hands. Truth be told, he was too ashamed to look at Sasuke right now. If he had a choice, he would be running away as far, faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away from where the Uchiha was. But they were in detention, and the room was locked. He wouldn't be going anywhere for a while...

"Naruto..."

The blonde flinched. Here we go... The moment of judgment...

"I'll protect you."

Wha-? Naruto's head jerked up so fast, he probably strained a muscle. He stared at Sasuke's too-serious face and gaped.

"I'm sorry?"

"I'll protect you." Sasuke repeated, looking for all the world like a hero from some manga Naruto read. Despite himself, Naruto blushed. Somehow... Sasuke looked too cool.

"F-funny, Gaara said the same thing..."

He didn't know why he just had to bring up Gaara now... He wished he didn't. Sasuke scowled for a moment but relented.

"I'll protect you more." He declared.

"Sure you will." Naruto couldn't help the teasing tone. "And I'm sure Gaara will lose to you."

Sasuke growled. "Are you saying he's better than me?"

"Well, I haven't had time to judge." Naruto was enjoying this now. "But I'm pretty sure Gaara has a better attitude. At least, he treats me better than you do."

"You dobe, better take that back."

Naruto pouted. "And he doesn't call me a dobe."

"A dobe is a dobe." Sasuke stated.

"Teme!" Naruto cried, regaining his fighting spirit. "That's why you're such an asshole! Gah- sometimes I wonder why I bother with you."

"Because I'm gorgeous."

"And very modest." Naruto dryly said.

Sasuke smirk turned sly. "You have to agree, dobe, that I'm one nice piece of eye candy. Didn't you say so yourself? You had a dream about me, didn't you?"

Naruto's blush returned full force and he choked on his own saliva.

"TEME! How dare you bring this up now!"

"Oh but why not?" Sasuke said nonchalantly. "You said so yourself, you dreamed about me... wet..." he trailed a hand down Naruto's arm. "...naked..." he slipped a hand into the blonde's shirt. "...And pinning you down in... where was it? Ah, yes, the shower room..."

"B-bastard..." Naruto gasped, trying his best to fight back the rush of pleasure those fingers had ministered. "Y-you won't get away with this..."

"Mm-hmm..." Sasuke trailed his lips down Naruto's neck, enjoying the shivers running down the boy's body. "I'm sure... Will I get... punished?"

"You PERVERT!"

"It takes one to know one..."

"Bastard… let go..."

Sasuke snorted at Naruto's feeble attempt to get away.

"I'll let go if you really want me to let go..."

"I do..."

"Liar…"

Naruto couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips as Sasuke began plundering his neck, leaving kiss marks and wet trails as the boy marked him as his own.

"S-sasuke, wait- I don't think-"

"Don't you dare tell me you don't want this..." Sasuke whispered.

Naruto did. He wanted him so much it scared him. And that was why he wanted to stop... It was all going to fast, and the desire was consuming him... eating him alive... He didn't want to do something he'd regret later on. But DAMN, Sasuke was good...

"Tell me, Naruto..." Sasuke whispered sultrily in his ear. "How was I in your dream? Did I kiss you, like this?" he trailed soft butterfly kisses on the expanse of Naruto's neck. "…Did I make you moan and writhe, and beg?" He trailed a wet tongue up the shell of the blonde's ear. He blew softly into the sensitive area and grinned at the tremor that racked the blonde's body. "Did you ever wonder how it would be to do it with the real me?"

"S-sasuke..." Naruto whimpered, his eyes pleading. "S-stop it..."

"Why?"

"I don't know w-what's happening anymore..."

"I'm seducing you." Sasuke stated as matter of factly. "And you are totally being seduced."

"Bastard." Naruto grated. "Am NOT."

"Oh?" Sasuke slipped a hand under his shirt. Naruto hissed. "I wonder now..."

"Teme, you better stop. What if the principal or some teacher came in?!" Naruto hissed, trying his best to ignore the hands fondling his nipple, awakening it to erection.

"Then they'd have the best show they'll ever see in their entire lives."

"Bastard!" Naruto struggled out of Sasuke's grasp, slapping the wandering hand out of his shirt. "You might be okay with that but I'm not! I'm not even g-ga-"

"Gay?" Sasuke shrugged. "Me neither."

"What?" Naruto blinked, as if hardly believing him. "Then why are you doing this...stuff! to me...?"

Sasuke cocked a brow. "...Stuff?"

"You know what I mean." Naruto hotly said. "If you're not gay, then why me?!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know."

"Asshole!"

"Takes one to know one." Sasuke quipped back, unabashedly using the same retort a while back.

They lulled into a contemplating silence. Sasuke was boredly checking on his nails while Naruto discreetly watched him.

"…Ne, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"What are we?" Naruto tentatively asked.

Sasuke looked up at him from his nails. "We're boys. Two, healthy and hormone laded teens who are currently rotting away in a detention room."

Naruto scowled at him. "You know what I mean."

"No, actually, I don't." Sasuke fixed his eyes on the blonde, who was currently fidgeting in his seat. "Pray, tell me."

"I mean... us." Naruto gestured lamely. "What are we? Where do we stand? Are we friends? Rivals? L-lovers?"

Sasuke paused.

"What do you want us to be?" he carefully chose his words, never letting anything slip from his expression.

Naruto was cornered. "I- I don't know. I thought about this before, and at that time, I figured we were friends, of some sort..."

Sasuke mentally smiled at the memory... Yes, that night when he heard the blind confession. Despite the fact that Itachi was there, it was a treasured memory...

"But now, I'm not sure..." Naruto looked up at him and Sasuke was nearly undone with the innocence in those clear blue eyes. "Friends don't do these things, do they?"

"No."

"So... What are we?"

Sasuke did not reply. His silence made Naruto feel uneasy, and his shoulders unconsciously drooped at the implied rejection.

"We're special."

Naruto blinked.

"Huh?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, dobe." Sasuke scowled at him.

Naruto stuck out his tongue. He forgot about Uchiha's and their strange irks about repeating themselves...

"We're special…" Naruto repeated, rolling the word in his tongue as if it was some new foreign language. He smiled, deciding he liked it. "We're special." He said, more surely.

Sasuke was watching him in the corner of his eye and he nearly rolled his eyes at the blonde's cuteness. Honestly, people who were this cute shouldn't even be allowed...

"Ne, Sasuke..."

"What?" Sasuke sighed, getting wary about the blonde's sudden questions.

"Do you like me?"

Sasuke blanched, caught off guard. "Wh-what?"

"I said, do you like me?"

"What kind of a question is that? Usuratonkachi!"

Naruto frowned. "What? I was just asking you. It's a simple question."

"You don't ask people that!"

"Why not?"

Somehow, this conversation reminded Naruto slightly of the one he had with Kiba just a few hours ago...

"It's not normal!" Sasuke was beginning to feel flustered. Damn that dobe! Uchiha's don't get flustered! Heck- they don't even get ANYthing! Damn the dobe for doing this to him.

"Why not?!" Naruto pressed, honestly curious.

"You just don't, okay?"

Naruto pouted. "You answer like Kiba."

Sasuke felt a vein throb. "Don't you dare compare me with that mutt."

"Hey! Kiba's a nice guy!" Although Naruto did not deny the mutt part. Honestly, the boy was just like dog.

"Whatever-"

RRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!

"There's the bell." Naruto stood up and stretched. The bell signaled the end of the period- also, the end of their detention. Sasuke was already by the door, which opened now that their detentions was done.

"Don't forget practice, dobe." Was the only short reminder before Sasuke disappeared from the room.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at him.

"That bastard. Can't even say a proper goodbye."


	19. World

My darling, DARLING readers of TWTS...

It's times like these that I just feel so HAPPY writing... It's the feeling of knowing that there are people who appreciate and actually enjoy what I write- It's just bliss, you know? And this makes me feel bad as well, since I made you guys wait for so long... (Updating is slow! wahh!)

I've also noticed a couple of flaws that some reviewers were kind to point out to me as well. Thanks for the critique guys; I'll definitely take note of it from now on. I tend to make things just jump from one thing to another- and I plan to fix that. It's just that sometimes, with a lot of things going around, I tend to juggle one event and another and it's my very bad habit to cram them into one chapter all at the same time. Ideas might go bye-bye, you know? ;

I've come a long way from my awkward attempts in writing when I first started TWTS- and it gives me unending joy that people are still steadfast and supportive in reviewing.. I am sincere and wholeheartedly grateful for all the reviews, notes, supportive hurrahs you readers have given me. As I look admiringly at the '1067' reviews on my stat page, I feel so overwhelmingly happy with all the individual kindness, and words of the heart-that I want to whip out my pen and start writing- just to repay and give back to you this happiness that you had shared with me.

And so please, to those who I haven't even heard from yet- I want to hear from you! XD Reviews mean the world to authors, especially to me!

THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Ever yours,

cookie.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaa

**World**

"I thought I told you

this world was not meant for you."

-The Strokes.

aaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"Everybody out in TEN minutes!" Naruto yelled, breezing past the open locker rooms his arms loaded with towels and empty water bottles. "And pick up your damn TOWELS, for christ' sake."

"Naruto-niisan, where do you want these?"

The blonde made a once over at the orange plastic thingamabobs 'those people' used in their training. Naruto made it a point to himself to refrain from calling them cones, because obviously- they weren't. "Just leave them in the storage cabinet. I'll put them away tomorrow."

"Okay."

Naruto turned around, pointing a finger at an unsuspecting freshman.

"Hey you, number eleven."

"It's Raidou."

"Yeah, you with the orange shirt."

"I said, my name is-"

"Do me a favor and clean up your locker." Naruto impatiently said, not really in the mood to be entertaining bitching first years. (Never mind he himself was one) "I've been meaning to tell you, but something's dying in there. Better throw it out, whatever it is."

"Naruto- nii'!" Konohamaru bounced over to him, eager to be helping out. "I've finished packing up the balls. What else do you want me to do?"

"Thanks a lot, kid." Naruto smiled at him, personally thankful that he need not touch filthy balls that had been kicked and spit and dribbled on by filthy cleats and then some... "I can handle this myself now, so you go on and scat. Do your homework for once."

"Hey, how d'ya know I've been skipping off homework?!"

"I'm your MANAGER." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I keep tabs on you guys. If you lag behind your schoolwork and shit, I'm not supposed to let you play or stay on the team. So if you plan to join the next game, better brush up on your algebra."

Konohamaru pouted.

"Not fair." He complained. "As if you're doing any better!"

"What did you say?" Naruto scowled.

"BYE, Naruto nii-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!"

Slam.

Naruto grumbled. "That brat. One of these days..."

Splash!

"Hey!" Naruto flew over to where the culprit stood, guiltily holding his empty Gatorade bottle in hand. On the floor was an ugly yellowish mess that looked too suspiciously like some asshole's piss.

"Sorry. It was an accident."

Naruto kept in a sigh. Accident my ass...

"I've got it, you go home." Naruto shooed the guy away.

The senior looked skeptical and half jumping for the chance to go home early.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled impatiently, while looking for a mop. "Hurry up! We're LATE!"

At the mention of the red hairs' name, the senior paled and grabbed the mop from Naruto's hands. "I'll help!" he squeaked, suddenly very decisive.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Huh? No, s'all right, I got it!"

"No, no... I'll do this." The senior laughed nervously.

"Huh..." Naruto allowed the mop to be steered from his hands. "That's suspiciously nice of you, I won't even ask."

Naruto clapped his hands, doing a quick job in steering the remaining people out of the locker room. It was obvious to many that the blonde was itching to get away... And the only thing that kept the team from point blank ignoring the blonde's orders was the bizarre fact that Sabaku Gaara, the red demon himself, was strangely attached to the blonde crack head who was now their very demanding manager.

"All right, move it. Move it." Naruto checked his watch worriedly. "FIVE minutes!"

Some people grumbled good naturedly, while others snorted in annoyance. Although Naruto wasn't exactly widely accepted into the team with open arms, there were some individuals who did not think badly of the blonde. For one thing, admittedly enough, Naruto was dutiful in his work. And although he could be loud and obnoxious in giving orders and had the tendency to push everyone around- he completed the numerous tasks given to him each day, from giving them ample H2O for practice, to reminding the basics of basic hygiene when it comes to maintaining their lockers. Thanks to him, (although many will not admit it) the number of clean lockers in the room skyrocketed- and many even started to find stuff they had lost eons ago. Naruto nearly fainted when one particular junior found his pet mice from two years back. Two wallops in the head, and everyone knew there was a silent understanding amongst them... No one was to bring anything inside the locker room not related to soccer practice- breathing or otherwise.

All in all, he was a pretty good manager, albeit a little eccentric. It DID sort of help matters that whenever things got nasty, Gaara would miraculously appear by the blonde's side and things would miraculously get resolved. Strange occurrence, don't you think?

"Okay, goodbye, Thanks for your hard work, Sayonara." Naruto loudly said, ushering people out the door. "Don't forget your block number t-shirts for next practice or I'd make you play in your birthday ones!"

Naruto glanced back at the locker room to check how many people were still there, when he met the eyes of Sasuke.

He blushed at the open way Sasuke was staring at him, and quickly averted his eyes with a small 'eep'. He could practically feel the spark in the air, and it burned him. For the past few days, sexual tension between them had been almost unbearable- to the point that Naruto ran away at the mere sight of that hard, lean body coming towards him. It didn't help that Sasuke kept smirking at him in that knowing manner that infuriated him to no end. Gah, the bastard. He was torturing him, and he bloody god damn knew it.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled, his voice echoing in the locker room, trying to distract himself from those coal black eyes that were following his every move. "Are you done yet? Let's GO!"

"You don't have to be so loud." Gaara mumbled, emerging from the changing room. "I'm here already."

"Let's move it." Naruto impatiently said, grabbing his orange duffel from the bench. "We're late- AGAIN."

"Like I didn't know." Gaara moved towards the shower rooms.

"Where are you going?"

Gaara did not even answer him, waving a hand in irritation. Naruto frowned at the redhead's disappearing back. What part of Late did Gaara not understand, anyway?

"Dobe."

Naruto swallowed the startled scream that suddenly leapt up his throat and jumped a few centimeters off the ground. He turned around to face the suddenly looming figure of Sasuke. Unconsciously, he backed up a few steps.

"Wh-what do you want, Sa- Captain?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes distastefully. "Where are you off to, MANAGER?"

"I'm leaving." Naruto replied, a bit confused with the slightly annoyed tone the raven was using. "What, you have a problem with that?"

"But there are still people left in the locker room." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, as if daring him to contradict. For truthfully, there WERE still soulful bodies around... Naruto, Gaara and Sasuke falling under this category of course...

"Uh, okay." Naruto shrugged, understanding that Sasuke meant himself more than anyone else. "Hurry up then. Gaara and I gotta go."

Too intent was the blonde in checking his watch; he missed the narrowing of Sasuke's eyes.

"Where are you off to with _Gaara_?" Sasuke cleared up, still not satisfied with the way the blonde was fidgeting nervously around. Of course, Sasuke was just being curious for the blonde's safety- NOT because the boy was feeling a really, really disturbing urge to rip something out and manhandle it. Preferably something red. Something breathing.

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what the Uchiha was implying.

"Uh..."

"Off somewhere special?" Sasuke leaned closer to the blonde, cornering him up to the metal lockers and planting a hand right beside the blonde's head to keep his prey from further moving. His lips widened to a smirk at the tell tale blush that was creeping into the blonde's cheeks.

'_Heh... This is too easy_...' Sasuke thought.

"N-no where special..." Naruto stammered, his gaze fixed on Sasuke's wandering hands, stifling a hiss when the fingers toyed with the top of his pants.

"Well then... is it someplace you can't tell me?"

Naruto closed his eyes and cursed his weakness. Why couldn't he resist Sasuke? For WEEKS he's been cornering him like this- teasing him then letting him go- making him suffer and embarrassed till he felt his pride was none but a shred left.

"We're just walking home together, Sasuke." Naruto said, in what he hoped was a firm tone.

Sasuke did not believe him.

"Oh, but you're LATE, Naruto-kun." Sasuke slipped a hand under the blonde's shirt. "And I think you have been for the past two weeks..."

Naruto kicked himself. Figures Sasuke had noticed... And why wouldn't he, Naruto sighed in defeat. He'd been yelling at Gaara to 'Hurry up' almost every frigging minute of the week.

"Sasuke, this isn't what you think-"

"What DO I think?" Sasuke was thoroughly enjoying the trapped look of the blonde. That dobe... It wouldn't really hurt to just tell him the reason, would it? "What am I supposed to think?"

"I think you should let him go."

Sasuke's mood immediately turned sour at the reluctantly familiar voice coming from somewhere behind him. Naruto let out an undignified squeak as he spied Gaara's glowering face from over Sasuke's shoulder.

Oh no... Gaara looked pissed. Scratch that- he looked beyond pissed. Sasuke better be quick on his feet as he was rumored to be... Naruto wasn't sure he would be liable for whatever Gaara would do. He had been around the redhead long enough to know and witness firsthand the extent the boy would go, just to make sure no one rough handled him or talked shit about him. Although indignant on the implication that Gaara did not trust the blonde to take care of himself, Naruto was immensely touched and secretly pleased that the redhead would do so much for his sake. And for that reason alone, he had let the boy do as he will, seeing that Gaara found pleasure in covering up his ass.

"Sabaku." Sasuke shortly said, turning around to face him. "I've been meaning to tell you this, but your sense of timing is detestably horrible. Naruto and I are busy."

"NARUTO and I are LATE." Gaara emphasized, his eye twitching at the tone of the taller boy. "And with all due respect, CAPTAIN, I suggest you let him go so we can be on our way."

Sasuke's scowl was ugly. Too ugly, Naruto decided, as he quickly stepped between the two. Ouch – was the fire sizzling, or what?

"O-kay, gentlemen, time to go." Naruto loudly said, forcibly pushing apart the two locked-in-a-glaring-contest boys. "Quit yowling over my ass and let's MOVE IT! We've got places to go, things to DO." The last part, he directed over at Gaara, sending him a look. "So let's break this up and all go home, yeah?"

"I'll walk you home." Sasuke immediately said.

"No need." Naruto said coolly, pinching Gaara from behind his back, as if to warn him to keep his mouth shut. "I can go home by myself."

Sasuke looked angrily over at Gaara.

"I'm going home BY MYSELF." Naruto loudly said, catching Sasuke's eye. "You're treating me to Ramen tomorrow, so better get loaded. I'm a machine."

Sasuke was torn from glaring at the blonde and attempting to incinerate Gaara with a deadly look. "And who decided that, dobe?"

"I did." Naruto flippantly said. "I want double Miso ramen, hot and steamy. Just like the way I like my guys. Ciao."

And with that, Naruto skittered away (with a grumpy Gaara on tow) slamming the locker door behind him with a loud bang, leaving Sasuke to gape after him, stunned at what the blonde had said. Sasuke forgot about his anger as his brain attempted to process the words so thoughtfully thrown at him.

"Just like the way he like his..." Sasuke's mouth turned into an 'o' as he realized what had happened.

"Goddamit. He got away."

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Run awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. That comment was out of the line, Uzumaki. OUT of line. Naruto wanted to kick himself, again and again, and hide away into a black hole and never go out. WHY did he have to go and say that?! WHY?! Was he stupid or something? And in front of Gaara too! Gah!

"Naruto."

The blonde sped up his pace, pretending he hadn't heard the red head calling him. Gaara matched his pace perfectly, not even blinking when the blonde quickened his steps. The sun splashed the world in its warm orange color, making their shadows longer and disfigured as they jogged along the gravel path leading the way to the busier part of town. Not a soul was in sight, and Naruto sort of wished this wasn't so. At least then, he'd have a reasonable distraction and a leeway to divert Gaara from the inevitable verdict that he was so SURE was about to come, just right about-

"Naruto." Gaara tried again.

Now.

"Not now, Gaara." Naruto pleaded, avoiding those green, green eyes. "Let's leave it till we get to Ichiraku's, yeah?"

Gaara just looked at him.

"Okay."

Satisfied that the redhead would keep to his word, Naruto fell silent and concentrated on keeping up his sprint towards the ramen place. He didn't know what to think as of the moment... He and Sasuke... What was he to make of them? Sasuke was special to him... and Naruto (dare he hope?) was special to Sasuke as well... Naruto thought back to the incident in the detention room. That was enough, wasn't it? They had a bond now, didn't they? And Gaara.., Naruto spared a glance at the redhead (who was looking straight ahead with his ever blank expression). He probably would notice soon enough... Naruto sighed. After all, Sasuke wasn't really being subtle in his attempts to- the blonde blushed, slapping himself. Bad images... bad!

But why?

Naruto frowned, as he contemplated the muddled emotions he was feeling. Why did he feel the need to hide from Sasuke? What was he afraid of?

"Rejection."

Oops- missed a step.

"Huh?" Naruto looked dumbly up at Gaara, who was looking at him so intensely it made him quickly look away.

"You're afraid that Uchiha's going to reject you... Aren't you?"

Naruto was so surprised, he totally stopped running. Gaara was looking at him, as if waiting for a response. Naruto could not give one.

"That's why you couldn't tell him about 'this'- and why you ran away from him like that." Gaara tipped his head to the side. "If you hadn't cared, you wouldn't really try this hard to convince him otherwise, would you?"

"Gaara- I don't know what you're talking about-"

"I'm not blind, Naruto." interrupted Gaara. "I see how you he looks at you, how he treats you."

Naruto felt a shiver run down his back as the words sounded eerily familiar.

"And I don't know if you want this, or if you're too afraid to want it." Gaara frowned at him. "But I've made a promise that I would protect you no matter what, and I stand by that promise. If Uchiha so much as hurts a STRAND on your head, I'm going to hunt him down and decapitate him."

Naruto had to smile at this.

"But Naruto... You have to stop being an idiot." Gaara crossed his arms. "You can't hide from Uchiha. Not like this. He's too involved. YOU let him involve. "

The smile disappeared.

"Sooner or later, you'd have to tell him, or he'd find a way to find out- just like what happened on that day with the Haruno girl."

Naruto sharply looked up, stunned. "How d'ya know about that?!"

Gaara looked irritated. "You told me about it, you idiot."

"...I did?"

"You were drunk out of your ass, but yes, you did."

Naruto felt the color drain from his cheeks as he slowly began to remember that day- when he had called up Gaara to indulge on some ramen and some 'well deserved sake'. Granted everything was blurry after his fifth or maybe sixth swig... Hell, how DID he get home safe and undetected anyway?? Naruto's eyes widened as he realized how smashed he had become.

Oh god... He could've said all sorts of things to him... His mouth was notoriously prone to blabbering information he wasn't supposed to share.

"Wh-what else did I tell you?" Naruto squeaked, praying that he hadn't mentioned anything about Sasuke. "That's all I told you... right?"

If the look Gaara was throwing him was any indication- he was about to die of embarrassment. A very bloody death.

"Aw MAN!!"

"My sentiments exactly." Gaara frowned at him distastefully. "I had to listen to you rant about things I'd very much rather not hear."

"Why didn't you just knock me out?" Naruto wailed, clutching his head. "You could have just shut me up!"

"You think I didn't try?" Gaara glared at him.

It was then Naruto realized where the mysterious bump in his head had come from. Jesus fucking Christ...

"I hate my life." Naruto sighed, turning around and started to walk.

"A lot of people do." Gaara glumly reminded him, following up his steps. "...You still haven't answered me. What are you going to do about Uchiha?"

"What do you suppose I CAN do?" Naruto looked at him sourly.

"You can tell him, for starters." Gaara scowled back. "As much as I'd hate to tell you this, it's getting tiring trying to make Uchiha retract his claws on you, when you obviously don't want them to be retracted."

Naruto sputtered indignantly.

"Don't say I'm right when I'm right."

The blonde pouted, crossing his arms dejectedly.

"You're very talkative today, Gaara." The blonde muttered petulantly. "I think I liked you better when you were playing statue."

Snort.

Their pace quickened as they spotted their destination closing up on them, the red flags dancing merrily in the wind, with the words ICHIRAKU'S printed in wide, black-ink Kanji. Naruto jogged up to the ramen house, pushing back the flaps to enter.

"Ouis!"

"Naruto! You're LATE!"

The blonde visibly winced at the discouraging tone the normally soft spoken oji-chan used on him. Well, they WERE practically an hour late...

"Sorry, oji-san, we got held up." Naruto apologized, quickly snatching an apron from the peg on his right. "We'll get straight to work now."

Gaara entered right behind him and followed suit, tying the white apron to his back securely. The kind faced Oji san sighed, smiling up at the two.

"Really now, you two are hopeless. I've risked a lot hiring you guys as part timers, and you repay me by being late almost on regular basis. What am I supposed to do with you?"

Naruto laughed guiltily. "We're really sorry, Oji-san. We'll work hard, I promise."

"That's good enough." The man nodded to the kitchen. "I think Ayane needs help inside. Why don't you two go help her?"

"Okay!"

Gaara followed stoically inside and headed mechanically towards the dishwashing space. Gaara opened the faucet and began scooping up some dishwashing liquid. After two weeks of doing this, it really wasn't that hard to get a hang of it. Quickly disposing of anything that would get in his way, he began his monotonous routine.

Wash, wash, wishy washy wash...

Gaara felt his eye twitch. Okay, scratch the wishy washy wash part... Annoyed at the piece of noodle that suddenly flew onto his right arm, he flicked it away and watched in disturbing satisfaction as it sailed to its death, landing somewhere near the incinerator. Insert evil laughter.

Honestly, Gaara rolled his eyes, he had no use for the money, and he detested manual labor like this. The redhead looked up to the blonde who was chatting up Ayane into letting him help with the cooking. …But when the blonde had confided in him that he was going to work part time in Ichiraku's to save up enough money to get out of the Haruno household, he could not let him do it alone. And despite his instincts kicking and spitting at him to go faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away before he totally lose his mind- he found he could not make himself do it. And so here he was, Sabaku Gaara, the red demon feared by the entirety of the school for his notoriety in beating people who crossed his line of vision... washing and beating- I mean, cleaning the dishes of commoners inside a shabby but well known ramen restaurant. All for the sake of someone named Uzumaki Naruto.

"Things I do for that Idiot..." Gaara muttered to himself, expertly swashing a washcloth over a bowl. "What does Uchiha see in him anyway?"

And you know what? Perhaps he'd like to ask himself that question as well... But then again, he already knew... Naruto and he shared a bond that was beyond what other people could possibly understand. Something mutual and so personal, that words cannot begin to explain. Gaara stilled in his movements and fixed his green gaze onto the blonde, who was laughing hysterically at something Ayane was saying.

Seeing themselves in each other was terrifying… And Gaara found that it was bitter and so very sweet at the same time.

"I'm a monster, but he is my kin." Gaara murmured. "And suddenly... it isn't so bad anymore."

What a sap.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


	20. Forgive

Chapter 20

Darling readers of TWTS:

Holah! I've updated! Thanks to your reviews, I've had my inspiration and despite my uber uber hectic life right now where I hardly get any decent sleep- I've managed! Hahaha...

Anyway, I hope this chapter would answer a few questions and set things straight... I've realized that a lot of things remained unanswered, I know that. And I'm sorry. XD But please do be patient... I'll try my very very best to gradually ease everything into this so it all fits together. Like puzzles. Tee hee.

I'm going on a trip- whee!!! TODAY! Hahaha... And I'm almost late but I don't care because I just HAVE to post this chapter before I go. Nyahhahaha... They can wait for me a little bit longer, right? You guys deserve your yaoi! XD And it's almost Christmas- that means my birthday is coming soon! So happy days... December is my favorite month after all. Nyah... Rambling again...

So anyway, god bless to you darling, darling people. I hope you like this chapter because I sure had fun writing it. Drop a line to tell me what you think. Reviews are like your presents to me- and I adore presents. Who doesn't? XD

Ever yours,

cookie.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaaaaaa

**Forgive**

"The more a man knows, the more he forgives."

-Catherine the Great

aaaaaaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Let me tell you a story about Eyebrow dee and Eybrow dum. Also known as, Sasuke's eyebrows.

Sasuke's eyebrows were very much acquainted to one another, seeing that the boy seemed to love scowling, or frowning or glaring- anything at all that would require these two very amiable friends to meet ever so often. However, in all their years of existing there, on Sasuke Uchiha's forehead, it was the first time they found themselves in a position dangerously high and practically disappearing into that sleek black hair.

Hey hair, nice to finally meet you. So... do you know what had finally caused this idiot here to look so shocked? I'm not sure... It was all too fast I didn't get to see it...

"Bliss!" Naruto sighed, plunking down the bowl gently onto the table.

Sasuke looked on unnervingly, choosing to keep his peace and focus instead on watching the blonde attack the bowls of ramen steaming happily before him. Beside him, was a steadily growing pile of empty ones.

"Dobe... Just how much are you planning on eating?"

"Hm?" Naruto blinked up, never wavering as he picked up another bowl. "What do you mean? You told me I could get as much as I wanted. Don't tell me your backing down on me now, bastard."

Slurp. Ah...

Sasuke looked irritated at the notion. What was it with people branding him as stingy? Did he LOOK stingy? Dare you to say that to his face.

"No, you idiot. Eat away. Just don't blame me if you get fat."

Naruto snorted, and Sasuke disgustedly avoided the spray that came from the blonde's mouth.

"I don't get FAT, Sasuke." Naruto looked scandalized at the notion. "Just as I don't get sick, or sexually frigid."

Sasuke's brows furrowed at the last part, and Naruto suddenly found his pair of chopsticks increasingly interesting to play with, consequently picking up his bowl and downing the noodles in a ridiculously fast pace.

Oh, hey again hair... We've been doing this a lot lately, huh?

Slurp. Cough, cough... Slurp again...

"So..." Sasuke began, seeing that the blonde was nowhere near stopping. "Want to start talking?"

"What?" Naruto swallowed, glancing at the Uchiha at the corner of his eye. "Since when were you eager to engage in the art of communication?"

"Since I encountered the biggest idiot the world had ever have to offer." Sasuke snapped, not amused.

Naruto ignored him, concentrating on stirring his iced tea. Sasuke wanted very much to just snap the straw that the blonde was twiddling with his fingers- but refrained from doing anything as he held his peace, allowing the blonde to consume his meal/s as he ever so patiently waited. See? He was being patient... And patience was a virtue Uchiha Sasuke never had.

"All right." Naruto finally said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll talk. It's why I called you out here, actually."

"Dragged." Sasuke reminded him, still feeling grumpy. "You dragged me here."

"Yeah well, it's not as if you don't want to be here either." Naruto quipped.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "You assume?"

"Shut up."

"Whatever, just- TALK." Sasuke rubbed his temples frustratingly.

Naruto sighed. He took a sip from his iced tea, watching the ice slowly melt and mix into the beverage. He swiveled around his chair to face Sasuke and opened his mouth to speak.

"You see, it's like this..."

Naruto began to lightly explain, in the shortest, most concise way as possible, that he had decided to work part time at Ichiraku's, MWF of the week, just after soccer practice. However, Naruto wasn't exactly the most concise person in the world, and so he began adding bits and pieces that weren't exactly totally related to his story, which led to another story and yet another... And so, he settled back to his seat in a more comfortable position, as his previously agreed short speech became an epic of some sorts, complete with highlights and soliloquy's and let's not forget the quotable quotes.

In the end, he told Sasuke everything.

Gaara's grim face was etched onto Naruto's mind, and this gave him the courage to actually carry on and bare his soul and present his heart in a platter. The blonde was aware that once he was through- he would be utterly vulnerable. Sasuke would have the liberty of doing anything to his heart- whether the boy decides to accept it, or break it into a tiny million pieces, was entirely up to him.

Naruto told him about his plans. His decision to work in Ichiraku's to save up, to eventually pay the remaining debt Naruto felt he had to owe the Haruno's. He told him about Gaara's thoughtful offer to accompany him, which was the reason they've been 'going home' together for the past three-days-in-a-week. He told him about how the cook would beat him or yell at him, he told him about how lonely he felt, and how thankful he was for Gaara. He told him about how Gaara was like the brother he never had, and how Kiba and the gang were the friends he always wanted to have. He told him about his dreams, his aspirations- the tears, the laughter, the wishes that never came true...

As the sun slowly sank into the horizon, Naruto painted himself onto Sasuke's mind- divulging to him his every color, line and contour, his flaws and imperfections, the ghosts and the past that haunt him...

How he was locked up in a dark room as a punishment when he was a child, how he would starve for days before receiving any decent food. How he had to endure the harsh words and hating looks from the villagers and the school. How he had no one and nothing and how his nothingness was his everything. How the pain was part of his everyday routine that he had now become void of it... That it became part of him... That he could not distinguish from it anymore...

"I've been holding off from asking you, but I have to ask it now." Sasuke croaked, looking visibly disturbed. "That day with that girl- Sakura, that day..."

Naruto slowly raised his eyes to look at him.

"What about that day?"

"She didn't- she wouldn't..." Sasuke's brow furrowed. "_What did she do_?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit." Sasuke swore. "You yourself just told me what the bitch and her bastard of a father are capable of doing. You think I'd believe they'd just let that _slip_? You practically declared WAR that day, you IDIOT."

"Haruno-senior wasn't around." Naruto calmly sipped his iced tea, which had lost its chill and now tasted a little watery. "It's a good thing he's on some extended business trip... If not, I'd probably be dead by now."

"Naruto!!"

The blonde balked in his seat as the Uchiha yelled at him, banging on the table so hard his iced tea knocked over and spilled onto his jeans.

"Hey!" Naruto cried, quickly standing up. "What's the big idea? Jesus! My pants-!"

"You big, dumb, pathetic IDIOT!" Sasuke yelled at him, his eyes glaring with so much anger that it made the blonde stumble back in fright.

"Wh-what the hell is wrong with you-"

"I'd like to ask the SAME DAMN QUESTION." Sasuke growled, ignoring the whispers and slight panic of the people from other tables. "What the hell is WRONG with you? How can you say that so calmly- do you want to die?!"

Naruto blinked. "I didn't say that!"

"If you wanted to die so much then DIE already." Sasuke spat, looking disgusted. "Stop wasting air and involving in other people. I hate morons like you who are so selfish and self absorbed."

Naruto glared at him.

"What the fuck?! I don't know what the hell's fucking with your brain, Uchiha- but stop YELLING for chris' sake you're scaring the other customers! I WORK here, you BIRD BRAIN!"

"Then stop talking about your situation like it was some goddamn walk in the park!" Sasuke snapped back. "I don't know what's going through your pathetic mind right now- but don't you dare drag people in your misery."

Naruto looked irritated but grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the ramen place.

"Keep it DOWN, you dickhead!" Naruto hissed, glancing nervously at the people who were staring at them. "Do you want to get me FIRED?!"

"That's what you're worried about?" Sasuke demanded, wrenching his arm from Naruto's terse grasp. They had wandered into a dark alleyway at the back of Ichiraku's, and as the sun bled through the shadows of the ground, two elongated figures stood facing each other: one, angry, pissed beyond doubt, while the other, irritated, confused and- well, pissed beyond doubt.

"That's what you're worried about?" Sasuke repeated. "Getting fired?"

"Well it's not easy getting a job, Sasuke." Naruto crossed his arms, pursing his lips. "Not that I'd expect some snotty, rich kid to know that."

"You care about such trivial things and you don't care about what can happen to you every time you step inside that hell hole you call home?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh god, tell me this isn't real." Sasuke slapped a hand to his forehead. "You really ARE an Idiot..."

"HEY!"

"You said so yourself Naruto." Sasuke looked at him through his fingers. "If it weren't for the fact that Haruno bastard wasn't on some stupid trip- you'd probably be rotting away somewhere, not breathing. What the hell are you gonna do once he comes back, huh? Do you WANT to die?"

"Is that what's bothering you?" Naruto uncrossed his arms, looking a bit bewildered. "Of course I don't want to die, you bastard. But it's not like I have a choice, do I?"

"Run away, hide, kill the sick fuck- ANYTHING." Sasuke growled. "As long as there's a will to survive, you can fight."

Naruto stared at him. Sasuke was glaring back at him with those fierce coal eyes, unwavering and steadfast. The wind blew past them, reminding the two how late it was, sweeping chill over their arms and making goose bumps appear on Naruto's arm.

"Huh... how poetic..." Naruto hung his head, smiling a bit. "These words... from an Uchiha's mouth... If it weren't so painful, I would have laughed..."

Sasuke refused to comment, watching the blonde with unflinching eyes. Naruto sighed, slumping back onto the wall and sliding down to the concrete.

"Don't over estimate me Sasuke, I'm terrified." Naruto softly said, wrapping his arms around him, as if trying to keep out the cold. "Whenever I think that Haruno-san would come back- I get so scared out of my mind. Every morning, when I wake up, the first thing that greets me is that overwhelming fear that grips my entire being, suffocating me and burying me in a wave of nausea and depression. Every day I go through the torture of anticipating when the moment would arrive... when Haruno-san would arrive... when I would be beaten up, and possibly even get killed..."

Naruto huddled his knees closer to himself, clasping his arms around him tightly, never to let go.

"Every night I would stay up thinking of his face, of his voice... Of his words that always leave me with a brand new scar both on my skin and in my heart. Every time I look at Gaara, every time he secretly dumps his lunch onto mine so I could have more to eat, or terrorizes the seniors who picks on me… I feel so afraid of losing him more and more, that I almost want to let him go. Kiba, Shikamaru and the gang... they laugh with me and joke with me and fuck up with me- I don't ever want to lose them... And you..." Naruto laughed shakily. "You're such a big bastard that I don't ever want to be taken away from you..."

"Then don't be taken away." Sasuke insisted, kneeling down in front of the blonde. "Don't give up now, you dobe. Aren't you the one always preaching to never give up? Aren't you the one who keeps going on about your philosophies and life and living life to the fullest and shit? Where did all that talk go, huh?"

"It's not that easy, Sasuke." Naruto sighed, not looking up at him. "I can't just run away. He'll find me, sooner or later, and it won't be pretty. Trust me."

Sasuke felt a nagging suspicion. "You tried running away before." He stated.

Naruto flinched. "Yeah... More than once."

"And?"

"And I got caught." Naruto glumly said. "He'd beat me up so bad I wouldn't be able to walk for weeks. The whole family would pretend not to have seen anything- and I would be forced to go back to work the very next day. I couldn't even hold a broom properly."

Sasuke cursed.

"And you know me- I was very stubborn." Naruto laughed dryly. "I kept trying and trying, and each time, the beating got worse. By the time I realized that it was no use for me to escape, I had received a fatal blow- something that nearly killed me, if it weren't for me collapsing somewhere near a hospital."

"Wha-?"

Naruto pointed to his stomach. "I have a scar there that looks like some tattoo of a swirly thingamashit. The doctors know it as a tattoo I received for my initiation in some weird fraternity I have at school. Haruno-san knows it as the burn he gave me for running away."

"God DAMN it, dobe."

Naruto sighed. "If only, Sasuke... If only."

"And now what? You're just gonna let it happen?" Sasuke demanded. "You're just gonna let him do this to you?"

"Haven't you been listening to me, Sasuke?" Naruto irritatingly snapped. "I can't DO anything about it!"

"Fuck you, Dobe." Sasuke swore. "Don't be so god damn selfish! YOU may be okay with this but it's NOT okay!"

"Who's gonna care?!" Naruto cried bitterly. "Who's gonna care if I don't care?!"

"I CARE!"

Naruto immediately closed his mouth. He stared up at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Do we really have to fight like this every time before I get it through your thick skull, Usuratonkachi?" Sasuke snapped. "I CARE, and God knows why I do. So don't you dare go on selfishly putting your life in deep shit and forsaking other people's feelings. MY feelings."

Naruto looked flustered. "Who- who's the selfish one again here?"

"Point is, you can't just carry on accepting things like it's already been decided." Sasuke carried on, sounding more and more strange and very unlike himself with every word that started tumbling out his mouth- fast, furious and out of control. "You know how painful it is- you know how fucked up it is! Don't give in to fate or destiny or all that bullshit. You can't let that person control you! Fight him! Never give in to what he wants, or what he selfishly wants you to be! Don't let him own you!"

Naruto's quickly picked up Sasuke's tone, and he stared up at the boy- who was looking unseated and a tad bit hysterical.

"Sasuke?"

"What?!"

"Are we still talking about me here?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he stumbled back a bit, something akin to uncertainty flashing in his eyes.

"Wha- Of course we're still talking about you. Usuratonkachi."

Naruto looked at him curiously. "What happened to you, Sasuke? Why do you look so afraid?"

"Who's afraid?" Sasuke snorted.

Naruto frowned. "You are. Or at least, you were. Come on, Sasuke- spill. What's got your pants in a twist?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Obviously, you and your fucked up relatives."

"That's all?"

"You idiot." Sasuke snorted. "Anyone can see what a sick fuck that bastard is."

"Who, Sasuke?"

"Who what?" the boy groused.

"Who're you afraid of?"

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Who were you talking about earlier?" Naruto knew he was pushing it, but he really, honestly wanted to know. Besides, Sasuke owed him this. "What did that person do to you?"

The raven head stared at him for a full minute.

Naruto reached out a hand and grabbed the cold clammy ones into his own. "I've told you my story, Sasuke... I think its time you told me yours."

Sasuke remained quiet for a while, before finally sighing in defeat. Taking his handsfrom Naruto's warm ones, he shoved them inside his pockets. He plopped down beside Naruto on the grimy wall and stared up the quickly darkening sky.

"My father."

Sasuke's voice was so soft, Naruto barely heard it. But he did.

"Your father?" the blonde repeated. "Where's your mom?"

"Dead. I think. Maybe. I don't know." He shrugged.

Naruto furrowed his brows. "You don't know?"

"No one really talked about her." Sasuke said, a little stiffly. "Ever since I can remember, I had no mother."

"...Oh."

Sasuke shrugged. "I never cared though. It seems she never was a mother to me. At least, according to Itachi."

"Oh yeah, Itachi..." Naruto nearly forgot about the boy's psychotic brother. "He's a weird one too... What the hell is up with him, anyway?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Sasuke looked like he had something unpleasant under his nose. "If I had my way, I'd refuse to be related or even associated with him. Blood, or no blood."

Naruto felt a grin creeping up his face. "He can't be that bad, can he?"

Sasuke looked at him darkly. "You have no idea."

"Try me."

"He used to lock me up in the bathroom for hours, just for the heck of it." Sasuke looked sourly at the blonde. "And then, when he'd successfully reduce me into a mass of tears and trauma, he'd let me out and scare the shit outta me by pretending he didn't know me or recognized me. The sick fuck."

Silence met his words for a while, and Sasuke stared at his clasped hands. Then, beside him, softly, Naruto giggled.

Sasuke frowned.

"Don't do that." His tone was accusing.

The giggle lifted a few notches, as Sasuke's frown turned into a full fledged scowl.

"It isn't funny!"

Naruto burst out laughing at Sasuke's outraged look, clasping his belly as he fought for air.

"You-you're adorable, Sasuke." Naruto chortled, throwing his head back in mirth.

The look in the raven head's eyes wad murderous. "Don't ever call me that."

The blonde raised his arms as if in a peace offering, trying his best to calm his hysteria. Once he got his laughter under control, he sighed and wiped off the tears of mirth that had gathered under his lashes.

"Are you done now?" Sasuke grumpily asked.

"Nearly, thanks." Naruto grinned at him.

If the blonde didn't know better, he'd say Sasuke was pouting.

"So... You have a psychotic brother in tow," Naruto ticked off his fingers. "...and you know shit about your mother- dead or otherwise. Peachy. So, what's the deal with your dad?"

Sasuke sighed.

"Nothing."

"I believe you." Naruto cheerfully said. "Now spill."

Sasuke wanted to punch him. Really, he did. He sighed.

"My father, is a man that no one would understand." The raven head began tentatively. "Not me. Not my mother. Not Itachi." Sasuke folded his hands together, resting them on top of his knee. "I never had any memories of him, even though we stayed in the same house and I grew up in his custody. The only one I talked to or actually got to interact with as a child- was my sick fuck of a brother."

Naruto swallowed a snort.

"He's a business tycoon, obviously obsessed with his work. He never had time to stay in the house for longer periods than a quick meal or a change of clothing. Not that I mind. I hate it every time he came home- because every time he did, he'd hound me to doing something or the other and every single time I would do as he says, he'd never be satisfied with what I do."

"What does he want you to do?" Naruto queried.

Sasuke shrugged. "He wants to control my life. He tells me what subjects I should take, what clubs I should join, which teachers I should suck up to. He tells me who to make friends with, which restaurant to eat in and what clothes I should wear. He even attempted to marry me off one time, that asshole."

Naruto looked startled. "Marry?!"

"You heard me."

"As in, till death do us part, o ye holy matrimony- that marry?!"

Glare- was his only reply.

"But- But you're too young!" Naruto protested. "Just how old are you anyway?"

"I just turned seventeen, thank you very much." Sasuke snapped. "But that didn't stop my father from hooking me up with some hag who's ten years older than me."

"WHAT?!"

"I refused, of course." Sasuke gave the blonde a weird look. "Not that he was happy about it. He bitched about it and cut off my allowance and all that shit- then he tried forcing me into an arranged marriage contract. That's when I found out that the 'old hag' was the countess of some rich French nobility, and he wanted them to marry into the Uchiha name. Figures."

Naruto was still openly gaping at him. Sasuke mused at the shocked silence that permeated the air, as he waited for Naruto to stop staring at him like he was some beheaded chicken.

"What?" Sasuke cocked a brow at him. "Does the concept of marriage befuddle your mind?"

Naruto snapped his mouth closed. Okay, so one, Sasuke just used the word 'befuddle'. Two, Sasuke nearly MARRIED an old hag million years older than him. Can anyone say, Hot DAMN?!

"What happened then?" Naruto finally managed to ask. "Did you defy your old man?"

"Naturally." Sasuke scoffed. "That wasn't even an issue. The old hag attempted to rape me for God's sake-"

"She WHAT?"

"Tied me up in bed and threatened to expose me to the public. Stupid girl, never even realized I was under aged. If the police were ever to find out, she'd be filed for pedophilia and attempted rape."

"She never realized?" Naruto looked astounded.

"Never." Sasuke shrugged. "Apparently, my father conveniently forgot to mention my age."

"That's bullshit, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at him. "Believe what you want."

Naruto slumped back onto the wall in disbelief. "Man, your father's sick."

"Itachi's worse."

"Nah- I don't think Itachi ever meant you any harm."

"You're right. He's just psychotic that way. Yes, very nice. I understand perfectly well." Sasuke dryly said, glaring at the blonde.

"So what's happening with your dad now?" Naruto pushed, very interested in Sasuke's story. "Does he still randomly pair you up with old hags and shit?"

"He tries to." Sasuke agrees. "But I've had enough of it. Itachi calls it my 'difficult stage' and 'rebellious phase', but I call it my 'snapping out of it' stage. I changed all my subjects and dropped all the clubs He made me join. And then I joined the soccer team."

"Ooh." Naruto winced. "Was he mad?"

"Furious."

Naruto noticed that Sasuke looked especially gleeful.

"From then on, I avoided the man every time he came to the house. I listened nill to whatever he had to say and ignored the gun he points at my head sometimes."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Gun?!"

"He doesn't know it, but I know it's empty." Sasuke shrugged. "Itachi once attempted to shoot me with it while playing 'Cops and robbers' (He forced me to join). That's when I found out."

Naruto laughed nervously. "That's uber creepy, man."

"I know."

Naruto waited for a few minutes for the Uchiha to continue, but it seemed this was where it all had to end. The blonde stretched out his feet and all but sprawled onto the ground. He felt the warmness of Sasuke's shoulder digging onto his own, which strangely made him warm enough not to feel the coldness settling onto the evening.

"Huh... Isn't this poetic?" Naruto suddenly commented, smiling up at the Uchiha.

Sasuke raised a brow. "What is?"

"This." The blonde carelessly gestured around him. "Here we are, telling each other our past and dirty secrets- behind some dirty alleyway beside a smelly dumpster in Ichirakus. Just peachy, don't you think?"

Sasuke snorted. "You brought us here, Usuratonkachi."

"That was because you were creating a scene." Naruto argued.

"Because you were being overly idiotic." Sasuke smoothly retorted.

Naruto sobered, as they were once again back to the point of their discussion.

"You know, Sasuke..." Naruto finally spoke, after a pregnant silence. "I'm not stupid."

(Snort.)

"…I do know you're right. I know that I should fight this. But what can I do, Sasuke? I'm too helpless. There's nothing I can do."

"Yes there is." Sasuke insisted.

"Uh huh..." Naruto lazily ran a finger on the boy's palm. "So what do you suppose we do?"

"First off," Sasuke looked at him seriously. "The moment you find out that son of a bitch had returned- you come straight to me."

Naruto ignored the speeding of his heart and instead raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"To you? How come?"

"Because I'll protect you, you idiot, now stop asking stupid questions." Sasuke snapped. "You can stay with me at my place for a while and then we'd think of a plan from there."

"Uh huh..." Naruto looked skeptical. "And this is supposed to be a plan?"

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Sasuke's scowl was ugly.

"No sir."

"Then stick with it." Sasuke curtly said, digging into his pocket. "And here. Keep this with you."

Naruto yelped, quickly putting his hands up to grab the black thingawatsit Sasuke just threw at him. He blinked down at the sleek, shiny, ridiculously small flip phone and furrowed his brows.

"What's this?"

"It's a cell phone." Sasuke stated, his expression 'duh?'.

"I know what it is." Narut snapped. "What am I gonna do with it?"

"Keep it." Sasuke shrugged. "It's annoying not to be able to keep in contact with you."

"Did you buy this for me?"

"Don't be stupid- of course not." Sasuke snorted. "As if I'd do something like that."

Naruto's eye twitched. Bastard.

"That's my phone." Sasuke continued. "It's annoying keeping it anyway. I keep receiving calls from unknown people day and night. You can have it."

"No thanks." Naruto handed the phone back. "I can't accept that."

"I'm not giving you a choice." Sasuke quipped. "Keep it with you all the time so I'd know where you are."

"Who made you my keeper?" Naruto looked sour.

Sasuke ignored him. He glanced at his watch and frowned as it informed him it was sometime around seven.

"How long are you allowed to stay outside?" he asked the blonde.

"Um... not so long. Why?"

"D'you think its okay for you to be out so late like this?"

Naruto blinked, glancing down at his own wristwatch. He visibly paled.

"Aurgh! Is this the time?! No way!" Naruto panicked, leaping to his feet. "Sorry Sasuke-bastard, I have to go. Aurgh!" he slapped his forehead as he remembered. "We still have to pay for the ramen!"

"You go ahead; I'll take care of it." Sasuke hoisted himself up, dusting his pants.

"No, wait." Naruto began jogging about. "I changed my mind. You don't have to pay for the ramen."

"What?" Sasuke frowned.

"It's compensation for the phone." Naruto insisted, digging around for his purse. "I think I can pay the rest on my next pay day if it's too much and..." the boy paused. "Are?"

Sasuke sighed. "What now?"

"My purse!" Naruto cried, blinking in surprise. He patted down his body, face visibly breaking down each passing second. "MY GAMA-CHAN!!!!"

Sasuke's face was comical. "...Gama-chan?"

"It's my frog purse- you know! The one you g-gave me..." Naruto blushed, firmly looking anywhere but in Sasuke's direction. "It's missing! How could I have missed it?!"

Sasuke cleared his throat. "If it bothers you that much I can just get you another one."

"NO!"

The conviction in Naruto's voice was so fierce it made the Uchiha blink.

"That purse is special to me!" Naruto firmly said, still insisting that it was hiding somewhere in the vicinity of his body. "It was the very first present I received!"

Sasuke paused.

"I gave you your first present?"

Naruto refused to answer him. "Mou!" he cried in frustration. "Where could it be?!"

"Maybe you didn't bring it with you." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"But I bring it with me EVERYWHERE!" Naruto insisted.

"Obviously, not this time." Sasuke sighed. "I'll handle it, dobe, so you go ahead. If you don't get a beating for being out this late, then you'll get it from me." _And kill the bastard who touches you..._

Naruto looked torn, jogging in place with his hands digging in his pocket.

"A-all right- but you'll have to let me treat you to something later on. AS COMPENSATION!"

Sasuke smirked.

"Uh huh... We all know you're just dying to have a date with me, dobe."

Naruto threw him a dirty glare over his shoulder, already in the midst of crossing the road. Sasuke pointed at the stop light and scowled at the blonde, as if daring him to not pay attention to the road and kill himself in the process.

Naruto stuck out a playful tongue and disappeared into the crowd. Sasuke sighed.

"Given the circumstances, I think I'll be first to kick the bucket. He's gonna drive me insane."

Sasuke then re entered the ramen store. Suddenly, immediately, he was attacked by a pair of tongs, a ladle and- was that a butcher's knife that just flew by?!.

"Hey!" he yelped, annoyed.

"That's him!"

"What did you do to him?!"

"Murderer!"

"What?" Sasuke yelped, bewildered, instinctively bringing up his arms as a shield. "What the hell?"

"Where's Naruto? What did you do to him?! If you hurt a SINGLE hair from his head I'll-"

"Calm down, child! You'll kill him!"

"Oh yeah! Give 'em the ol' one two!"

"Ayane DON'T!"

"Oof- hey that was my foot!"

"DON'T TOUCH THE HAIR!"

"AAUUURRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHGGG!!!!!!!!!"

Sasuke quickly pasted himself against the wall, staring at the growing jumble of people piling up on top of each other as if determined to tear each other apart. If that wasn't enough, somehow, in the midst of the confusion, the customers had begun pelting food against one another and a huge fight was now on process.

"FOOD FIGHT!" someone yelled ecstatically.

"Too late for that you MORON!"

Splat!

Ooh... What a waste of perfectly good pie...

Sasuke jumped as someone let out a war cry, sounding unnervingly like some crazed Amazon woman out for the kill.

"O-kay..." Sasuke looked skeptically and a little doggedly at the chaos before him. "I think I'll just come back tomorrow..."

With that, Sasuke moved towards the exit, jumping back as a particularly large chocolate covered meringue came flying his way.

"Damnit." He swore under his breath, eyeing the destroyed piece of desert sliding stickily down the once spotless wall. "I will not be reduced to this idiocy. I will not be redu-"

SPLAT!

Sasuke's eyes widened, as he stumbled forward with the impact. His mouth opened in a gape as he reached behind him and fingered through his hair... He glanced down his digits and saw the remains of what was once a delicious flan pudding. (Cherry flavor, topped with maple syrup) He snapped.

"That's IT!" he growled.

Grabbing the nearest edible dish in his vicinity, he flung it as hard as he could, not really caring who it hit, or where it hit, as long as it HIT-

SPLAT!

A large, satisfied grin flashed on Sasuke's face as the roast beef pie made contact with a woman's chest, destroying the lacy thing into something unsalvageable even by the cleaners.

"That would teach you never to mess with an Uchiha." Sasuke sniffed haughtily, (to no one in particular) marching out of Ichiraku's with his head high and hands in his pocket.


	21. Reason

AN:

To my darling readers of TWTS:

Merry Christmas! XD

This is my absolutest favoritest holiday of the year. Haha! I'm posting this exactly at 12 am since I'm a sucker for these kinds of things.. bah.. Anyway, I hope this chapter came just in time for your Christmas. Be sure to drop me a note and tell me what you think! Consider it your present to your darling cookie-sama. (gets pelted by brownies) XD

Tomorrow's my birthday and I'm feeling a bit sad. I'm OLD!! sobs If you guys can guess my age- cookies for you! I'm curious to know your guesses. teehee!

So anyway, I think I've done enough ranting- on with the show! Have a happy, happy Christmas darlings! Share some love with the world. And don't forget to drop me a line! I will be forever grateful. XD

Ever yours,

cookie

P.S.

By the way, if it would interest you darlings, I've got a short fic I posted just recently. It's called 'Promise'. XD Ye be warned, it's a deathfic, but nonetheless, I was happy at how it turned out. (Can anyone say sadist?!) If you're up to it, do read. And DO review. Means a lot to authors, especially me! Cheers!

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**Reasons**

"The heart has its reasons

that reason cannot hope to understand."

-Blaise Pascal

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aaa

It seemed to Sasuke, as always, he had been right.

The dark eyed Uchiha pinned his gaze onto the mass of blonde as soon as Naruto stepped into the class room, looking tired and a little worse for wear. He immediately spotted the blackened ring on his left eye and his fists involuntarily clenched. Whoever was responsible for that mark on the blonde- he was going down. Painfully.

"Jesus, Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed, as the blonde plopped tiredly onto his seat. "What the hell ran over you THIS time?"

Naruto cradled is head onto the desk, looking blearily up at him while stifling a yawn.

"A frozen chicken."

"Right." Kiba frowned, poking the limp blonde lightly with his pen. "It just gets crazier and crazier, huh? This one's the funniest yet. What's next? Superman?"

"Mhm..." Naruto mumbled, already falling asleep. "Let me get back to you..."

Kiba huffed, looking at the blonde dubiously. Honestly, it was really getting alarming. Naruto kept appearing with fresh bruises or bumps in the head without fail almost every week, and he wouldn't say anything about it- no matter how hard Kiba tried to pry. In the end, he was forced into just accepting the blonde's shady excuses, some ranging from skeptical to downright absurd, like how Naruto had demonstrated earlier. Honestly, a frozen chicken... Who in their right minds would believe it?

"Shikamaru!" Kiba called out, when he saw the blonde had already fallen asleep and was nowhere in the right condition for a decent conversation. "Get over here for a sec!"

The only response he got was a loud snore.

"Honestly!" Kiba cried, tossing his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I have the laziest friends!"

Kiba gave a loud harrumph as neither boy barely even looked up. He picked up the comic book he was reading (Superman Returns!) and sulked into his seat, deciding he might as well do something useful with his time...

Sasuke frowned in his seat as he gazed unwaveringly at the now slumbering blonde. He did not miss the tired look, the drooping shoulders or the bloodshot eyes. Something HAD happened that day- Sasuke was sure of it. And, judging by the black eye the blonde was sporting, something happened yesterday as well. Bastards!

"Is he dead?"

Sasuke's head snapped up from his internal seething and he realized with a scowl that Gaara had arrived. Kiba immediately put his feet down from the seat across him (which was, incidentally, Gaara's seat) and laughed sheepishly.

"Maybe. I don't know. You check."

The red head gave the boy a 'look'. Kiba raised his hands as if to say 'Don't look at me!' Gaara snorted. He pulled of his rucksack and settled into his seat, digging into his bag for something. Kiba looked on in half concealed interest, sliding his comic book shut and slipping it inside his desk.

"What are you looking for?" he tentatively asked.

Gaara glanced up at him with slight surprise, which he quickly wiped away from his face. "Nothing."

"Uh huh..." Kiba refrained from sticking out a tongue.

Gaara finally fished out a crumpled file which looked like it had seen better days. Giving it a once over, he pushed it towards the curiously watching boy and silently motioned for him to take it.

"What's this?" Kiba wondered as he picked up the folder, smoothing out the sides to make it look a little more presentable. He opened the cover and peered into the files inside, skimming over sheets of printed paper. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned the pages, not really getting what the content was about.

"Uh, I know I'm risking my life by asking again, but... What's this?"

Gaara just looked at him. "Research."

Kiba got more confused. "About?"

"Cellular Mutation."

"Oh... Cool." Kiba lamely murmured, pretending to read. Okay, so why was Gaara showing him some research on Cellular Mutation? He knew the guy was weird but this was really, really, REALLY not making any sense. Was he, like, giving some clue on his alien colony or something?

"Uh..." the boy tried to send the redhead signals to relieve him of his dilemma. However it seemed Gaara did not do body language.

Kiba hated the fact that Gaara did not like talking, so unless he was being talked to, Gaara wouldn't open his mouth at all. And even if you DID talk to him, chances are, he'd conveniently ignore you or stare at you until you go away. Therefore, my little pretties, following this logic, if Kiba wanted any answers, he knew he had to ask for them. Incessantly. Brilliant deduction. Hooray. But there's just oneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tiny thing... Gaara did not like being asked questions either. Well, la dee da.

"This is really swell and all but... What's this for again?"

"Research." Gaara repeated. "For our paper."

Kiba stared at him. "What paper?"

The red head started to look annoyed. "For Biology."

"Jesus, will you please stop talking in monosyllabic sentences and just ANSWER me for god's sake?!" Kiba rubbed his temples.

Gaara glared at him. "You ask too many questions."

"Yeah?" Kiba scowled at him. "Well you don't give any answers at ALL so I think this just tops the equilibrium, huh?"

"Don't you dare use Physics concepts on me."

"I'll use whatever damn concepts I want." Kiba stuck up his nose, grinning widely. "And gee, Gaara, I never knew you loved Chemistry like I did."

Gaara glared at him. "Physics."

"Whatever."

Sarcasm was the word.

Gaara refused to say anything anymore, settling back in his seat and looking out the window. Kiba waited for a few minutes, tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk. His eyes fell back on the research folder and he frowned.

"Come on man, just fill me in on this." Kiba finally tried again. "I mean- if this is some lab work thing then I've every right to know, right?"

Glare.

"What, was I supposed to know this stuff?"

Nod.

Kiba began bouncing on his foot, trying to remember anything of the sort. Vaguely, he did remember that nervous science teacher telling them something about a research paper of some sort...

"Okay, so maybe I do know... sort of." Kiba frowned, crossing his arms. "But why Cellular Mutation?"

"Because I say so."

"What?" Kiba gaped at him. "Hey, not fair! Don't I have a say in this?"

"No."

"Why the hell NOT?!"

"Because." Gaara glare. (The ever scary Gaara glare…)

"So now what do you want me to do?" Kiba demanded, shaking the folder at Gaara. "Why are you giving me this research?"

"That's my part." Gaara shortly said. "You do the rest."

"Say what?!" Kiba looked like he had swallowed something sour. "That's not fair! This- you're not- we're supposed to do this TOGETHER!"

"Says who?" Gaara snapped.

"Says the fucked up bastard who invented lab partners!" Kiba shot back.

"QUIET!"

Both parties froze in mid retort as a blonde head shot up from under the confines of his arms, glaring blearily at them for disturbing his sleep.

"Can you two PLEASE do your bitching OUT side?" Naruto thickly said. "People are TRYING to sleep here!"

Kiba looked about ready to quip a reply but Gaara had stomped on his foot. Hard.

"YEOWCH!"

Gaara ignored the boy jumping about and stared steadily at the blonde's pale face, immediately spotting the blackened ring on his eye and the bags underneath it.

"What happened to you?" Gaara cocked a non existent eyebrow. "You look like road kill."

"Gee, thanks." Naruto grumbled, his head falling back to his arms. "Always feels good to be complemented."

Gaara looked at him impassively. It was after a few moments before he realized the blonde was done talking.

"I just saw Hyuuga." Gaara spoke up casually.

Naruto grunted into his arms. "That's nice... Good for you."

"This is the second floor." Gaara continued, as if he were making perfect sense.

Naruto did not reply. Silence stretched for a few golden moments as Gaara watched the blonde impassively for a reaction.

"He talked to me."

Naruto still remained immobile. Beside him, Kiba had foregone displaying his array of very colorful phrases and was staring at Gaara like he really WAS from some alien colony.

"He asked me about you." Gaara prodded on.

"CHRIST!" Naruto cried, finally losing it. "JESUS, Gaara! What's a guy got to do to get some peace here?"

The red head glared at him. "This is important."

"What you and Neji do is entirely none of my business and I don't plan on making it otherwise." Naruto groused, his head dropping back on his desk. "I suggest you talk to me when I'm feeling human again- which is not now."

Gaara understood, but he still frowned.

"Fine." He muttered. "But if Hyuuga finds a way to get a hold of your personal information, I will not be responsible for anything."

Naruto did not hear him.

But Sasuke did.

"What are you talking about?"

Gaara stared back at the dark glare that had suddenly filled his line of vision, his brain taking a while to realize that Kiba had suddenly disappeared from his seat and had been replaced by the temperamental Uchiha. Gee.

"Uchiha." Gaara blankly said.

"What about Hyuuga?" Sasuke impatiently pressed, ignoring the cool, almost bored look Gaara was giving him.

"What about him?"

"That's what I want to know." Sasuke snapped. "What ABOUT Hyuuga?"

Gaara stared at him. "...He's a person?"

Somewhere, in the midst of the classroom, a certain Inuzuka Kiba dropped to the floor and died. Sasuke looked like he had swallowed something big and uncertain and was staring at the redhead incredulously.

"Are you being funny, Sabaku?"

Gaara shrugged.

"Well, stop it." Sasuke looked visibly disturbed. "It's uncanny. Very unlike you."

Gaara snorted, choosing to look out of the window and watch nondescript birds twittering about. He steadily ignored the impatient tapping of foot and the glare coming from the dark haired boy beside him.

"Look," Sasuke finally spoke, getting tired of standing there looking stupid. "I don't give a rat's ass about what you think of me and shit- but if it's something regarding that blonde idiot over there, I think I've gotta know."

Gaara did not budge, but he was listening. Sasuke counted one to three to make sure he had his temper under control.

"Did he talk to you yet?" Gaara finally spoke, pinning the boy with one bored eye.

"What?"

"Did Naruto talk to you yet?" the red head repeated, looking annoyed.

Sasuke understood.

"Yeah. He did."

"Hm..." Gaara rested his chin on one hand. "So he DID spill the beans on that ramen date... Five bucks to me..."

Sasuke frowned. "You knew?"

Gaara shrugged. "I knocked the sense into him, so yeah, I knew."

"And you aren't bothered?" Sasuke's tone was cautious.

Gaara had not removed his bored expression. "No. Though I do wonder about you sometimes, captain. What DO you see in Naruto anyway?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I ask myself the same question."

Gaara shrugged. "I don't really care who Naruto's fucking- as long as he doesn't get hurt." His bored expression turned sharp as he fixed glaring eyes at the raven. "If you hurt a SINGLE hair on his head, CAPTAIN..." he narrowed his eyes. "I won't hesitate to murder you in your sleep, decapitate you, and hang your guts out for the birds."

Sasuke was not sure on which line of thought he should react to first, so he settled instead on glaring at him.

"Likewise." he murmured, steel lining his tone.

Staring contest.

Something that both parties would never, ever, get tired of doing. It was probably even safe enough to say that they were experts at it. You can ask Sasuke's eyebrows for testimony.

"Are you two done now?"

The two boys blinked, as they were roughly pulled out of their world by the voice that had spoken. Sasuke turned his head to look at the blonde, who was looking at them sourly from atop his folded arms.

"What happened to you?" was Sasuke's immediate question.

"I got hit by a frozen chicken."

Snort. (That was Gaara)

"Come up with something more creative." Sasuke demanded. "If your going to make excuses, then at least make them believable enough.

Naruto frowned.

"But it wasn't an excuse."

"Right. Okay. And Gaara wears pink." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Beside him, Gaara yanked lightly on Sasuke's sleeve, pointing at the badge pinned on his shirt.

REAL MEN WEAR PINK

Sasuke snorted in disbelief. "You are not serious."

"Whatever, bastard." Naruto sighed tiredly, slumping back onto his desk. "Just go away now, I need my beauty sleep."

"Why?"

Sasuke and Gaara looked at each other sourly at their unison. Naruto snorted into his arms.

"I asked first." Gaara blandly said.

Sasuke furrowed his brows. "Oh please, don't be stupid."

Naruto silently thanked whatever gods heard him that at least one of the two idiots were sensible enough not to rise to the bait.

"...Of course I asked first."

Thunk.

Naruto let his forehead hit his desk, glaring at the scratches and markers embedded in the surface there. No... he was the stupid one. He should have known he would never get his peace here... The roof would have sufficed. He was an idiot.

aaa

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RRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGG!!!

Naruto gave a sigh of relief as the glorious sound of the dismissal bell rang throughout the building- its echoes of freedom embedding itself deeply into the blonde's muddled mind.

"Yo, blondie!"

Kiba bound up to him with an earsplitting grin. "You wanna catch up on some arcades? My treat."

Naruto replied with an equally earsplitting yawn. "Can't today, Kiba... Got soccer practice."

The boy frowned. "Oh yeah... Today's Monday, huh? Bugger." He watched the blonde absently put away his belongings. "How about afterwards?"

"Cant." A deep, smooth voice answered for him, followed immediately by the appearance of the soccer captain himself. An arm swung itself over the blonde's shoulder. "WE, have a project to work on."

Kiba's jaw dropped open as Naruto merely blinked up annoyingly at the Uchiha.

"What project?"

"Weren't you listening?"

"To what, exactly?" Naruto zipped up his bag and stacked up a pile of papers, stuffing them hazardously into his desk. He did not shrug away the arm draped inconspicuously on his shoulder, much to Kiba's flabbergasted mind.

"To the Science Investigatory project, that's what." Sasuke dryly said.

Naruto paused. "The what?"

"The research project." A voice supplied helpfully, one belonging to a certain red head.

Naruto stared blankly at Gaara for a few seconds, before recognition flashed through his eyes. "Oh yeah! That one!"

Sasuke suppressed a snort, followed by Kiba's less discreet one.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, frowning a bit. "When was it due again?"

"Next week."

Naruto's eyes bulged. "Already?!"

"Uh huh." The boy lazily replied. "Which is why you are going to my house to work on it. Today."

"Today?!"

"Today."

"B-but..." Naruto stammered. "You never told me about this!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I tried to call you."

Naruto was about to retort that he most certainly did NOT receive such call, but then closed his mouth abruptly.

"Um, yeah... about that..." Naruto suddenly looked uncomfortable.

Sasuke did not miss the brief flash of foreboding on the blonde's expression, and mentally made a note to himself to ask about it. Later.

"Whatever, dobe... We'll talk later." His voice was laced with a promise. "You're coming over today, that's final."

Sasuke gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry." He said. "I'll take care of everything."

Naruto looked down. "Okay." He softly said.

Kiba and Gaara stood to the side, silently watching the unfolding drama in front of them. Kiba sighed and eyed the red head balefully.

"You see? Why can't we be more like that?"

Gaara gave him a scathing look. "You want me to put my arms over you?"

Immediately, Kiba blanched. "NO, you ASS hole! I meant being lab partners! Why can't you be more like the Uchiha and work WITH me for once?"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "I work with no one."

Ah, but my pretties... we all know that isn't at ALL true...

"Practice time." Gaara loudly said, rudely interrupting the love birds being all lovey dovey in front of him. "We're gonna be late, CAPTAIN. MANAGER."

Sasuke's glare was heated, as the blonde jumped in surprise, hurriedly brushing the arm from his shoulder. Pink dusted his cheeks as Naruto scrambled away, leaving the room with a hurried 'I'll see you in the fieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeld!!!', slamming the door behind him with a loud BAM!

Kiba quickly took this as his cue to exit as well, not really up to having himself caught in between these two very dangerous psycho's- er, persons.

Staring contest.

And this time, there was nobody there to stop them.

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aaa

"All right, that's enough for today."

There was a collective sigh of relief as more than one tired body collapsed to the grassy ground, desperately breathing for air.

"Jesus..." Konohamaru wheezed, a hand to his erratically beating heart. "Is it m-me, or C-captain seems to be in a f-foul mood today..."

"It's just you." Gaara growled beside him.

"I can't take this…" someone gasped, already convulsing with fatigue. "Momma, take me now..."

Sasuke looked unflinchingly at his team, unsympathetic. He took particular glee in taking note of Gaara's rather ragged looking form. Suddenly, Naruto burst into the field, and, in flurry of motion, began handing out fresh water bottles to the half dead members, clucking his tongue in disapproval at their state of weariness.

"Sasuke!" Naruto protested, amidst murmured thanks of the hungrily drinking members. "How can you push them like this? You know it isn't good to be over exerting them!"

Sasuke shrugged.

"I got carried away."

Naruto scowled at him, while helping Gaara sit up. "That was brutal, Uchiha. I was watching from the bleachers man, and boy, if only I didn't have those bloody coolers juggling in my hands I'd have-"

"Naruto..."

The blonde got distracted, blinking down at the redhead. "Yeah, Gaara?"

"Water..."

"Oh! Right..." Naruto quickly handed over the bottle, helping the redhead drink up. "Poor Gaara... You were picked on, that you were." He threw a dirty look at the soccer captain, who had conveniently looked away. He threw another glare towards the bleachers, where Tsunade pretended not to notice, picking casually at her nails. Naruto hoped to god they would chip.

"Come on, you guys... up you get." Naruto stood up and put on his best commanding voice, surveying the field of fallen players. "Drag your ass' towards the locker rooms and grab your things. I don't care if you're smelly, sweaty or stinky. No shower for you. Do your thing once you get home."

For once, no one protested.

"Don't get wet till you get home." Naruto continued. "You haven't had a chance to cool down yet," he shot the Uchiha another glare. "...so you better do it now, and then drown yourself later for all I care."

A collective nod of agreement.

"All right. Dismissed." Naruto sighed.

Behind him, Sasuke hid a smile. The blonde sounded very good, taking command like that. Who would've thought the blonde dobe had a knack for this kind of thing? He quickly straightened out his expression as the blonde rounded on him, his expression ugly.

"And YOU,"

"I'm very repentant." Sasuke said immediately, enjoying the annoyance written plainly on the blonde's face. He looked particularly funny, with that blackened eye... He looked more like a raccoon than he ever accused Gaara...

"I don't give a shit if you kill these bastards, one by one, painfully if you will..." Naruto snapped. "But if you ever do that here, in this field, while I'M manager, you will regret it. Painfully."

"I see..." Sasuke's expression turned sly. "My, my... I never knew you cared so much for these 'bastards', MANAGER... I wonder since when?"

Naruto snorted. "Don't make me laugh. If it weren't for the fact that Tsunade-baba would have my hide if anything happens to them, I wouldn't give a rat's ass."

"Really?"

Naruto ignored the blush tainting his cheeks. "Yes. Really."

"Hn." Sasuke snorted. "I believe you."

He didn't.

They ambled towards the locker room in agreed silence, separating their ways to do their duties once entering the now bustling area. Naruto immediately sprang to work.

"Hey! I just cleaned those!" he yelped, quickly running over to a bunch of sophomores (who had just muddied the bench with their muddy shoes), who jumped and immediately apologized.

"Yeah, okay." Naruto shooed them away. "Don't worry 'bout them, you guys go on home."

The blonde felt a twinge of annoyance as the party insisted that they stay, in the context of helping the manager 'clean up', while managing to knock over the towel rack in the process.

"I can do this." Naruto frowned at them. "I said, you go on home. I'll take care of it."

Still, they persisted, and in the process, upset the coolers onto the floor.

"Do you guys understand English?" Naruto snapped. "I said BEAT IT!"

A squeak and a hurried apology, then they were gone. Naruto sighed to himself. Must he really resort to violent language before they got what he meant? Maybe jocks really didn't understand proper English... Naruto snapped at himself for entertaining stupid thoughts, before scurrying to upright the upturned coolers and racks. He himself wanted very much to leave already, his earlier fatigue and lack of sleep now taking its toll on him.

"Naruto..." a voice behind him speared through his trail of thoughts. "What about Ichiraku's?"

The blonde blinked as the redhead materialized in front of him, posing a question that made him realize with a start how absent minded he had been all day.

"Aw, shit!" he cried. "We're late!"

Gaara shook his head. "I knew this was going to happen, so I called Oji... told him you were sick."

Naruto looked like he could have kissed the redhead. "Gaara! You are godsend... Divine! My hero!!"

"Rather than that," the red head rolled his eyes at the blonde's theatrics. "Don't you think you have other things to worry about?"

Naruto blinked. "Like what?"

Gaara nodded his chin towards the soccer captain, who had just finished stuffing the last of his jersey inside his duffel bag. As if on cue, the Uchiha looked up and met their gaze with a questioning cock of the brow. Yes?

Naruto suddenly remembered.

"Oh yeah... that stupid project." Naruto sighed.

"Are you sure you're going with him?"

"Yeah..." Naruto flicked off some stray blades of grass off his shirt. "It's not like I've got a choice. The paper's due next week! Birds of a feather..."

Gaara cleared his throat. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

Naruto looked confused. "Sure I am. Sasuke's harmless-"he paused.

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow, as red crept suspiciously up the cheeks of the blonde.

"You were saying?"

Naruto fidgeted, not meeting his eyes. "Um, I mean... I can handle him..." he vaguely said, not exactly very assuring.

Gaara did not respond, but with the hard set features of the red head, it was hard to gauge an expression.

"If you say so." Gaara finally replied, without further probing, much to the relief of the blonde. The red head moved towards the exit of the locker room, nodding a goodbye to the blonde. "Make sure you use protection." He side commented blandly, shutting the door behind him.

Naruto's face flamed red and he loudly cursed the red head. He hoped no one heard Gaara...

"What protection?"

"Eep!" Naruto squeaked, spinning around to meet the Uchiha's questioning gaze with his own guilty ones. "S-sasuke!"

The dark haired boy raised a suspicious brow.

"Why are you blushing?"

If possible, Naruto blushed harder. "I am NOT!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's getting incredibly old, Usuratonkachi. Whatever, I'll let it pass." _For now, _he added silently "Are you ready to go?"

Naruto swallowed uncomfortably, suddenly aware of the many eyes that had swiveled over to them at Sasuke's seemingly innocent query.

"Uh yeah... Just a sec..." he ambled over to his own locker and shakily retrieved his backpack, shutting the metal door with a soft click. He made a once over and nodded in satisfaction. Calling out a last minute reminder to what remained of the soccer team, he finally made his way over to the Uchiha, leaning boredly by the lockers.

"Let's go." Sasuke straightened up.

"Wait, I'll have to wait for them to leave..." Naruto protested.

Immediately, there was a flurry of movement as the remaining members of the team hurried to leave the room, falling over themselves in their haste. The blonde blinked at the suddenly people-less locker room, his gaze roving questioningly up at the Uchiha who had innocently looked away.

"Okay." Naruto blankly said, pathetically naïve. "Let's go."

They made their way out of the locker rooms, Naruto double checking the locks and ensuring the lights were off. Sasuke watched him methodically check that the water was not running and that no circuits were left open.

"You really are taking this job seriously." Sasuke commented, off handedly.

"Yeah, well..." the blonde shrugged, finally shutting the door and pocketing the key. "It's not in my nature to just do something half heartedly just cuz I don't like it. It'd be unfair."

Sasuke felt a smile creep up to his mouth, but suppressed it. He glanced at the blonde, who was watching the horizon, as if gauging what time it could be. The sunlight illuminated his face and the dark haired Uchiha was once again reminded of what had initially attracted him to the blonde.

He was beautiful.

And bright.

Literally and figuratively. With all that blonde hair and all... He shrugged and grabbed the blonde by the hand, ignoring the sputtering protests.

"Come on, we'd better get going. It's going to get dark soon if we don't hurry."

Naruto made a soft grunting noise and obediently followed, his hand relaxing into the dark haired boy's grip, even going as far as shyly lacing his fingers with the boy's pale ones. If Sasuke was surprised, he didn't show it, but the soft squeeze in the hand reassured the blonde that the dark haired boy did not mind in the least.

They walked together in comfortable silence, the silence of the school at this late hour a comforting atmosphere as the sky started to glow orange. Naruto looked up at the comforting sky and gave a small smile. It was ironic really... Every time the blonde looked up at the sky, it always seemed as if the sun was dying. He glanced down at their entwined hands. As far as he could remember, the only time he looked up at the sky, was when he was despairing... his thoughts flew towards the time when he had cried in the playground, and where Gaara had found him... the time when he had run away from Sakura to hide from the world's cruelty, and when Sasuke had found him... the time when he had presented himself to Sasuke behind Ichiraku's on that dirty alleyway. All those times, the sun had chosen to abandon him.

But then again... Naruto smiled up at the warmth of the orange tinged sky, comforted, rather than distraught. He never spited the sun for leaving him. He understood, that the sun did not choose to abandon him... it died for him. And as it sunk into the horizon, slowly drowning into the sea, it leaves with the promise that it would soon return again. And Naruto becomes borne again. Just like the sun.

He tightened his grip on Sasuke's hands and the boy glanced back at him. Naruto smiled at him stepped in closer into the boy's warmth. Sasuke raised a brow but did not comment. And still they walked... on and on... as the sun happily died for them.

"Dobe..."

Sasuke finally spoke, disrupting their comfortable silence. They had taken the long cut towards Sasuke's place, which was decidedly more scenic and less noisy. Trees lined the dirt road and running water leading to a dam nearby sang softly beside them. Naruto blinked curiously up at him.

"When we get to the house, we are going straight up to my room." Sasuke warned him.

Naruto blinked. "Okay."

"No loitering." He sternly said. "And don't go anywhere without me. Alright?"

The blonde's curiosity was piqued. "Why?"

The Uchiha shook his head. "You have to promise."

Naruto shrugged. "Alright. How come?"

Sasuke visibly relaxed at the promise, but still retained his frown. "Itachi."

Naruto's lips twisted to a grin, as the boy's frown turned deeper still.

"Are you still worried about Itachi?"

"I have every reason to be." Sasuke muttered.

"Aw, come on, Sasuke." The blonde giggled. "Don't tell me you're AFRAID of your brother?" he tried the goading attack.

"If I were you, I'd be scared as well." Sasuke eyed him testily. "He doesn't pick his victims, dobe. Even cats don't come near him. For a good reason."

Naruto threw his head back and laughed. Sasuke did not even flinch. This continued till they reached the gates of the Uchiha residence, wherein the blonde was wise enough to sober up. Sasuke gave him one last warning glare, before pushing the doorbell.

Silence…

Naruto's brows furrowed. "Is it broken?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, the intercom beside them sputtered to life, and a methodical voice informed Master Sasuke politely, that the gate was to be opened immediately. Naruto stared at the piece of contraption, ignoring the groaning gates that were slowly opening to admit them in.

"Hey, how come it's never done that before?" Naruto wondered.

It did. Last time, however, Naruto was asleep to even notice. But the blonde was being thick headed as always...

"Come on, dobe." Sasuke hissed, practically dragging the blonde inside.

Naruto followed, eyeing the dark haired boy amusedly. "MASTER Sasuke?"

Sasuke regarded him coolly. "Only yours, dobe. Only yours."

Naruto blushed and refused to comment, following the dark haired Uchiha into the large structured door and into the lavishly decorated hallway. No matter if the blonde had seen it before- but the Uchiha household was grand. Upon entering the door, there was a circular receiving room, wherein entryways for the kitchen and the living room were situated in the left and right wings respectively, and slap dab in the middle of the room, was the beginnings of a large banister leading up to the second floor. Naruto silently eyed the various pottery and knick knacks adorning the ivory tables. It remained a painful memory the last time he had been here; he had broken a large expensive looking vase. Not that Sasuke had particularly cared...

"Stop staring and let's go." Sasuke's tone had an edge to it, and Naruto had three guessed as to why.

They climbed up to the second floor, where the stairs faced a large veranda (with a magnificent view, Naruto thought) and stepped into a long hallway decked with mahogany doors stretched endlessly on both ends. Sasuke turned right, and Naruto followed, allowing his eyes to roam around. Strangely, although the lights in the hall were most obviously on- it was absurdly dim and, how do you explain it- lonely? Naruto scrunched up his face and shook his head. How can houses look lonely?

"Get in."

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and blinked, looking up at Sasuke who was impatiently holding the door open.

"Hurry up, dobe. I don't have all day." He said testily.

Naruto rolled his eyes and stepped into the now mostly familiar room, having already slept in it for a day. Thankfully, Sasuke's room was not as dim or lonely as the entire house, but softly lit and comfortable. Naruto gave a soft sigh and put his bag down beside the low table at the center and plopped himself onto the warm bed.

Sasuke shut the door behind him and locked it, letting out a large sigh. Naruto grinned.

"Safe?"

Opening his eyes, the Uchiha scowled at him. "Shut up."

The blonde snickered, watching the Uchiha plod gently over to the bookshelf and taking out several books. Naruto recognized some of his own school textbooks and it struck him weird to be seeing some of Sasuke's school life in his house.

"What topic should our project be about?" Naruto queried, honestly having no clue on how to go about the entire thing.

"I was thinking something we can relate to." Sasuke grunted, lifting a heavy volume of encyclopedia from the top shelf.

Naruto walked over to him and silently plucked the volume from his hand, placing it down onto the wooden low table. "Something we can relate to? Like what?"

"I don't know."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "How about something current?"

Sasuke snorted. "Have you seen the news lately?"

"Yeah." Naruto silently agreed. "Nothing interesting there. Only nuclear bombs and mass destruction."

"Whatever. Let's just do something widely studied." Sasuke plopped himself down onto the floor, resting his elbows on the table. "Those are usually the easiest."

Naruto followed suit, frowning at the boy. "Widely studied? Like what?"

"I don't know." Sasuke frowned. "Cloning, nuclear weapons, whatever."

"You're no use." Naruto complained, flipping open the nearest book in vicinity. He scanned a few pages, frowning a bit.

"How about chemical reactions?" Naruto read, pointing at an experiment. "We could test it by making an artificial volcano and allow carbon and some other stuff explode."

"No." Sasuke immediately replied, scowling. "I've had enough of explosions, thank you very much."

Naruto refused to comment.

"Test tube babies?" he tried.

"Where the hell are we going to get test tube babies?" Sasuke snapped.

Point.

"Solar energy?"

"Too much time."

"Infrastructure?"

"Too broad."

"Anatomy?"

"..."

Naruto glanced up at Sasuke in inquiry, wondering at the lack of response. The boy was staring at him incredulously with a mixed expression of dubiousness and amusement.

"What part of the anatomy EXACTLY?" he slyly asked.

Naruto turned beet red. "F-forensics?" he stammered, looking firmly down the book.

"Too specific."

"Astrology?"

"Too whimsical."

Naruto slammed his book shut in disgust. "Well what the hell do you suppose we do then? It's either too specific, or too narrow, too broad, too complicated, too fucking everything!"

Sasuke shrugged. "It is."

"Then you pick a topic." Naruto groused, shoving the book towards him.

Sasuke opened to the table of contents and randomly chose a page, flipping over to it correspondingly.

"Thermodynamics."

He blinked. "Perfect."

"Thermodynamics?" Naruto repeated, glancing over at the page. "What's that about?"

"Heat." Sasuke shrugged. "It's fairly simple. Let's see what we can do about it."

Naruto shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say."

They settled down into a more comfortable position and began leafing through books, collecting as much data as they could on their agreed upon topic. The clock ticked in a steady rhythm accompanied by the soft whirring of the ceiling fan, as time passed by in comfortable silence.

An eternity later- or perhaps an hour, Naruto broke into a yawn. Sasuke glanced up and checked his watch, working out the crick in his neck with a brutal pop. Ignoring the blonde's look of utmost horror and disgust, he stood up and stretched.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Uh... anything's fine."

Sasuke snorted. "Anything. Those are usually the hardest ones to get. Just spit it out dobe, what do you want?"

Naruto frowned at him. "Milk, if you have it."

Sasuke gave a sly smile.

"Anytime you want it."

Sasuke smoothly closed the door, gracefully avoiding the pillow thrown his way. He gave a small smirk as the pillow made contact with the wooden surface of his door, accompanied by a string of colorful curses from the blonde. Allowing himself a small pat in the back, the dark haired boy made his way down to the kitchen. Milk indeed...

Back upstairs, Naruto huffed indignantly onto the bed, crossing his arms as he waited for the heat in his cheeks to subside. He cursed the Uchiha for the thousandth time, more annoyed at himself for getting so riled up. He let out an explosive sigh and sprawled out unceremoniously over the bed, fingering the soft, silky covers with lazy fingers. He stayed like this for a while, his mind wandering off aimlessly as he lay there quietly in peace. Gradually, the day's fatigue washed over him, and his eyes began to droop, his heart beat steadying in rhythmic beat... He shut his eyes in surrender, promising to himself to wake up five minutes later...

That was how Sasuke found him, fifteen minutes gone.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he gently shut the door, placing the tray down onto the table. He padded over to the blonde and covered him with a blanket, making sure he wouldn't wake him. Sasuke gently brushed the stray blonde locks from the blonde's face, allowing himself a small smile at how cute and peaceful he looked.

He'd let the dobe sleep for now...

The Milk can wait.


	22. Direction

AN:

To my darling readers of TWTS:

Finally an update... I haven't quite had the motivation to finish this chapter up and it's been with me for so long I thought I would never finish it... But, here it is... I'm afraid I am feeling somewhat under the weather lately, and I need some cheering up. Be a darling and drop me a note. I will forever appreciate it, I promise you. XD

But anyway, despite the theatrics- I have a confession to make! It seems that TWTS still has a long way to go... I'm not quite sure if this is bad news or good news, but rest be assured I am going to finish this. I already have an ending in mind so I'll take my pretty time working through it. So don't go away yet folks... We're only just getting there. Haha... I sound like some retarded telemarketer... Nyah...

So anyway, here's the next chapter of TWTS, long delayed... I hope you like it! Drop me a line and tell me what you think. It means the world to all authors.

Happy reading!

Forever yours,

cookie.

aaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

**Direction**

"Life has taught us that Love does not consist in gazing at each other

But in looking outward together in the same direction."

-Antoine de saint-exupery

aaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Naruto did not know what to do.

He glanced over uneasily at Cook, who was impatiently gutting a fish with vicious, concise strokes that would have made any butcher proud. He stood meekly hidden in a corner, quietly peeling onions, trying as much as possible to stay out of sight. Thursday afternoons were particularly busy, since the lady Haruno liked to invite friends for a 'dainty ladies hour' which usually more than not, turns into a smorgasbord-for-the-fat-ladies-and-friends-that-would-last-more-than-one-hour-thank-you-very-much.

He kept his eyes firmly on the beefy man, uncaring of the danger of cutting himself with his eyes trained elsewhere, his body tense and poised for any signs of impending danger. He had strategically chosen to work in an area closest to the door, for at any hint of danger, he would bolt.

Naruto hoped to god that he was not the reason for Cook's foul disposition. Oh god, let it be not so. Not that it would make any difference- the man would not hesitate to vent his anger on the blonde, his fault or no. But if, IF it were to be true that the man was annoyed at his expense- Naruto shuddered. He had taken pains, in all his years of existing in the Haruno household, to be especially careful not to anger the heavily built man- and he was mostly successful. Mostly.

Naruto jumped as the Cook slammed the skillet onto the stove, cursing as the fire wouldn't spark, making him resort to using flimsy match sticks. And the thing with flimsy match sticks, is that they easily broke in his large hands.

"Curse ye' bloody matchsticks!" the man roared, reverting back to his native tongue. He threw the box to the floor in frustration.

Naruto quickly dove to retrieve the box, immediately lighting up a match and coaxing the stove to light. After he had successfully lit the fire, he quickly scrambled back to his corner and tried to look busy, feverishly dicing the onions.

This was all Sasuke's fault!

Naruto wanted to strangle the Uchiha and sorely wished he were there. It was HIS fault after all. He miserably picked up another bulb and began peeling the papery skin. That Monday night, after waking up hours later on Sasuke's rather comfortable bed, he had fallen to the floor in a confused, frantic wreck as he realized how long he had been sleeping. Sasuke- the bastard- had the audacity to tell him to relax.

It seemed that the bastard had the foresight to call the Haruno household (How the HELL he got that number, he did not know) while the blonde was sleeping, and politely informed the people concerned that their beloved Naruto-kun would not be back till late, for they were working on a very important, life threatening project. Naruto wanted to die at that point, but horrors! That wasn't the worst bit. Not only had Sasuke single handedly told 'Madame Haruno' that Naruto wouldn't be home to help through supper, he also informed the lady (quite politely) that the blonde would continue to do so till the end of the week due to DIRE circumstances. Sasuke hopes she understands.

Naruto glared at the knife at his hands, as he remembered how the blood had fled from his face, how the panic rose up in him like a bubble and how he nearly threw up all over Sasuke's clean, carpeted floor. Stupid, stupid bastard! He shouldn't have made those decisions by himself! Selfish, arrogant-

"BOY!"

Naruto jumped again and dropped his knife in surprise. He turned wide eyes towards the red faced man, fear gripping him like a bear clawing his prey.

"Y-yes sir?"

"Stop staring at your knife like it was some bloody hooligan and get me those onions!" the man spat, wiping his hands on his apron. "And be QUICK about it! The missus' is being strict on having this dinner before five so don't be dilly dallying about!"

Naruto nodded dumbly and hurriedly finished up, whisking away the tray and handing them over to the impatient cook.

"Er- is there anything else you need me to do?" Naruto stammered.

"Stay out of my way." He replied. "I don't want you making any mess of the kitchen, you hear? Wash up the dishes then get out. I work better alone."

Naruto was only glad to comply and headed over to the washing place, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

ACK!

The blonde blinked rapidly as tears welled up in his eyes.

STUPID!

He still hadn't washed his hands. The onions he peeled... Naruto opened the faucet and regretfully began to wash, his tears falling uncontrollably over his cheeks. Damn, that hurt!

"BOY!"

Naruto turned around as Mary, the head maid, and an old scrawny bat at that, clambered down the kitchen, pausing only for a second to tell him there was someone at the door for him. The blonde was surprised. Someone at the door? For him? Since when?

Trying to wipe his tears away, he hurriedly climbed up the stairs towards the hall, quickly throwing off his apron. He opened he door a crack and peered outside.

"Hello?"

The blonde squinted his watery eyes. There was no one there. He opened the door wider and stuck his head out.

"Hello??"

"Dobe."

"Nyah!"

Naruto was jerked forward as the door was pulled away from his grasp, sending him forcefully forward outside.

"Ow!" the blonde cried out, rubbing his arm disbelievingly. "Sasuke?!"

True enough, the dark haired Uchiha was there, standing in all his glory, looking for the world like it was an everyday occurrence that he visited blonde's in their abusive homes in his casual but sexy black shirt and a pair of cut offs. Naruto was struck for a moment at how different he looked outside his usual school uniform.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" was the only thing Naruto could muster, still shaken by the sudden nosedive.

Sasuke brows suddenly knitted together, and Naruto had to step back as a pale hand started to reach for him.

"Why are you crying?" he demanded.

"Huh?" was Naruto's stupid reply.

"Who?" the Uchiha growled, touching the tear stains tracking back to puffy, red rimmed eyes. "Who made you cry?"

"Cry?"

Naruto blinked, touching his face. "Oh this... It's nothing really. I did this to myself. Clumsy me."

"That may work on Inuzuka, dobe, but it won't work on me." Sasuke stated firmly. "Who did it?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "But it's true!"

Honestly, the time he tells the truth is when people refused to believe him. The irony of the world.

"How the hell did you manage to make yourself cry?"

"It was stupid." Naruto sighed. "I was peeling these onions see, and I totally forgot about them and rubbed my eyes... Instant tears..." he playfully punched the boy. "So keep your hair on, bastard. Nothing tear-worthy had happened."

Yet.

Sasuke frowned, but backed down. He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side.

"Are you busy?"

"That depends." Naruto raised a brow. "Because if you ask the Haruno's, I'll always be busy. Why?"

Sasuke shrugged. "We can work on our ISP. My place."

"Right NOW?" Naruto gaped at him.

"Preferably."

Naruto was at loss for words. "But- but- I can't!"

"Why not?"

"You know very well why not."

Sasuke's lips thinned. "Yes, unfortunately. Okay, wait here."

"Wait... here..." Naruto repeated dazedly, watching dumbly as Sasuke marched into the house (which was now delightfully open for him to intrude on). It took a few seconds for him to register what was happening, and when it did, fear gripped his entire being that his knees almost gave up on him.

"No, wait!" the blonde gasped. "SASUKE!"

He was too late. Naruto skidded to a halt and literally froze as Sasuke slipped into the master lounge which he knew- he just KNEW- the lady Haruno occupied. He did an abrupt about turn and paced up and down the hall, frantic and scared shitless. What the hell was Sasuke trying to do? Was he trying to get him into trouble? Sure, today was Thursday, one of the two days when they were both less busy (Tuesday being the other)- but Sasuke was being purely reckless. At his expense!

From the now slightly ajar door, there was a loud squeal and some twittering then silence. Minutes of long, stretched silence. Naruto dared to throw a look at the dreaded door, and his face paled when he saw the door slowly, slowly open, and out stepped the lady Haruno herself, with a smirking Sasuke on tow. And, Naruto thought sourly, he looked damn proud of himself. Bastard.

The lady of the house was a somewhat pretty woman, with fair features and a poised, almost elegant way about her. She stood tall and proud, with her fair hair swept in an elegant knot on top of her head. She kept her face powdered and her lips painted, with whiffs of perfume sprinkled strategically on dainty wrists and behind earlobes bearing heavy, white pearls. She dressed simply but tastefully, always showing the branded names in a fashion that suggested airy nonchalance but subtle boastfulness. The jewelry that sparkled on her fingers and her neck added more to the elite aura that she often favored especially in front of guests.

But that was where the flattery ended- for Naruto knew behind that sweet, buttery voice and mild demeanor, was a harshly apathetic woman who had neither hide nor care of what became of servants who disobey at the hands of her husband. She would sometimes watch, as the man in his violent fits, beat the blonde in front of her- and not once would she flinch. Not once would she stop her husband. Not once would she look at him with pity or regret in those cold, unfeeling eyes. And Naruto never forgot those eyes... He shuddered to think what human being could bear to watch someone get hurt, and not feel anything- not even a shred of remorse nor even delight. Apathy. On her, it was cruelty.

"Naruto." Called out the melodious voice of the lady.

To the blonde, it sounded more like his death toll.

"Y-yes, ma'am?"

"This very charming young man informed me that you have something VERY important to attend..." the woman smiled adoringly at the Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun is your lab partner, isn't he? It wouldn't be good to drag him down in his studies. I heard he is due to study in Harvard in the near future."

Naruto's jaw dropped open.

"Um... he is?" was the only reply he could muster.

"Yes, and I hear his father is the president of the prominent Uchiha company." She continued, obviously very enamored with the dark haired boy. "Naruto-kun, why didn't you tell me you had SUCH wonderful friends?"

Naruto stared up at her incredulously. First of all, when the hell had she learned his name? (Naruto-KUN?!) Second of all, she barely even spoke to him at ALL, and now she wonders why he never told her of such wonderful friends. If he had friends.

"Um, lady, you are stark raving mad and I'd rather not talk to stark raving mad people, thank you very much."- was what he dearly wanted to say.

But of course he couldn't. Not if he wanted an earlier death.

"My apologies, ma'am." The blonde murmured instead.

"It's getting late, so why don't you boys run along?" she continued, in that honeyed voice that made the blonde want to throw up. "Make sure to drop a line to your father, Sasuke-kun. Maybe we could have a family dinner together?"

"If time would allow it." was Sasuke's crisp reply.

"Yes, of course."

Naruto inwardly gagged.

Yes, of _course._

"We will leave you to your get together, madam." Sasuke smoothly made his way over to the blonde, nudging him gently over to the doors. "I am sure it would be no trouble...?"

"No, no, not at all." She assured.

"B-but Cook said," Naruto protested in a small voice.

"Nonsense!" the lady hushed him, with an effective brush of her fan. "I will personally go and tell him of your duties so will you be _quiet_."

Naruto gulped.

"Yes ma'am."

They both knew what it meant.

"It was a pleasure, Haruno-san." Sasuke evenly said, ice lining his voice. "We will take our leave now."

"Ah yes, of course."

Naruto jumped as Sasuke elbowed him none too gently on the ribs, so he quickly muttered a mumbled excuse before stumbling out the doorway. The Uchiha bowed stiffly to the woman and followed suit, ignoring the buttered goodbye that was thrown his way before the door shut close.

He kept his face into a schooled grimace till he was at the end of the gate, where the blonde was waiting for him with a scandalized look.

"What in the world were you thinking?!" Naruto cried, shaking the dark haired boy by the shoulders.

Sasuke shrugged, brushing the hands away unabashedly. "As far as I see it, I got you out."

"You are out of your mind." Naruto declared, a reluctant grin blossoming onto his hardened feature. "Stark, raving bonkers."

Sasuke smiled suavely. "Thank you."

He stepped out of the black, iron gates and walked calmly out onto the streets, gesturing for the blonde to follow. Naruto ran to catch up, yanking on the Uchiha's sleeve a bit impatiently.

"What did you DO?" the blonde asked, almost desperate for answers.

Sasuke continued walking, shrugging non-committal manner. "I talked to her."

"What did you say?" Naruto prodded. "Why was she all sugary and buttery and so... so... disgustingly clingy to you?"

Sasuke cocked an amused eyebrow to the blonde, allowing a small smirk. "Oh dear, I think I've made you jealous."

"Don't change the subject," Naruto whacked him on the arm, but did not deny it. "What. Did. You. DO?"

"Like I said, I talked to her." said Sasuke. "It wasn't that difficult to have her listen... I just mentioned my name and my father's business, and she was all ears. I never even had to lift a finger."

Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Uchiha, huh? I know you're rich but are you really THAT rich?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I never bothered to check."

Naruto scowled at him. "It must be nice... To be so rich you don't even bother to see HOW rich."

Sasuke merely looked at him coolly. "It's a privilege."

The blonde stuck out his tongue.

"And then?" Naruto began swinging his arms about, enjoying the fresh, cool breeze the waning afternoon brought. He began to lose some of his tension now that they were walking further and yet further away from the prison-like house. "What did you say after that?"

"I told her that you were my lab partner, and that I needed your assistance." Sasuke continued, his gaze never wavering from where it was trained forward. "Then I apologized for what happened on Monday night..."

Naruto suddenly frowned. "Damn right, you should apologize. I don't know what the hell you were thinking! Do you realize how scared I've been ever since?"

"Why?" Sasuke glanced at him. "Did something happen?"

"Not really." Naruto slowly began. "It was just that Cook was being really edgy... and I'm hoping it's not because of that... God forbid..."

"If anything happens-"

"I go straight to you?" Naruto teased, snickering. "Okay, mommy. Geez, you sound just like Gaara."

Sasuke grimaced. "I meant to call you that night, and today for that matter. But your phone was dead... Why didn't you open it?"

Naruto suddenly fell silent, and the Uchiha was aware that this was the second time he encountered the uncomfortable silence. Something was up.

"What happened?"

"Um..." Naruto mumbled, looking down at his hands. "About that... see..."

They continued walking, with Sasuke waiting patiently for the blonde's reply. Naruto was twirling his fingers nervously, glancing now and then at the calm looking Uchiha. He took in a breath and decided to just say it.

"It got smashed to pieces."

Sasuke abruptly halted in his steps, surprised. "It got what?"

Naruto quickly apologized. "I'm sorry! I'll buy you a new one, I swear! I didn't really mean for it to happen."

Sasuke was unconcerned with the fate of the phone, but it was the circumstances he was more concerned about. He absently waved at the blonde's profuse apologies, resuming his steps.

"What happened?"

"Well," Naruto began, miserably. "That night, when I came back late from your place... Um, it rang."

Sasuke silently cursed.

"I was in the kitchen, helping Cook, and the phone like, started ringing and vibrating like crazy." Naruto looked upset. "I put it in my bag, so I had to fumble around and look for it before I could do anything about it."

"And then?" Sasuke nearly dreaded what was coming. "What happened?"

"Well, like I said, Cook's been having sour moods lately, so when he heard it, it was like a bomb exploded. He yelled at me for nearly half an hour and he nearly cut my arm off with that knife he always has." Naruto made a chopping motion with his hand. "And then he grabbed the phone and chucked it to the wall. It didn't survive."

Sasuke waited for a second for the blonde to continue, before letting out the breath he didn't knew he held.

"So... you didn't get hurt?"

"No." Naruto glanced at him, looking uneasy. "But I'm really, really sorry about the phone though. I'll get you a new one."

"I don't care about the phone." Sasuke snapped. "Are you SURE he didn't touch a SINGLE hair on you?"

"...No."

"Naruto..." Sasuke warned.

"Okay, so maybe I DID get hit in the back. But it was by accident." Naruto quickly said, alarmed by the sudden darkness that fell on the boy's face. "I couldn't dodge the skillet flying my way and so I got hit."

"Oh yeah, sure, it was your fault you didn't dodge." Sasuke sarcastically said. "So if you dodged and STILL got hit, would it be his fault then?"

Naruto looked away. "It didn't hurt... that much... I was too worried about the phone to notice..."

"Dammit, dobe..." Sasuke stopped in his tracks, facing the blonde.

"I don't give a shit what happens to the blasted phone, but if anything ever happens to you I'm gonna-" Sasuke stopped, faltering.

Naruto was staring at him dumbly, his mouth slightly open.

"Er... I mean..." Sasuke hated the redness creeping into his cheeks, backing away slightly. "I'd hate to see you get hurt in my expense."

"Oh..." Naruto looked down. Sasuke's fingers twitched. Was it him, or did the blonde look slightly disappointed?

"Let's get a new one this Sunday." Sasuke said offhandedly, resuming his pace. Naruto looked up, slightly confused.

"This Sunday?"

Sasuke nodded, not looking at him. Naruto ran to catch up to him.

"W-wait, Sasuke... I can't buy you a new phone this Sunday... How about next week? I'll have saved enough money by then..."

Sasuke glared at him. "Who said you'd be buying me a phone?"

"Well, it's just right-"

"I don't need one." Sasuke interrupted him, annoyed. "We're getting one for you."

"But I don't need one either!" Naruto protested. "I'd rather put my money to better use!"

"Idiot. I'm doing the buying, okay? So just shut up and be ready by ten. I'll come pick you up."

Naruto's brows furrowed together. "Sasuke! I can't just waltz out of the house anytime! How the hell am I going to explain this to the Haruno's?"

"I already did that for you." Sasuke smoothly said.

"Wha-" Naruto paused. "You did?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Just a while back."

"Oh..." Naruto looked down for a second. "You planned this before hand?"

Sasuke had his back turned to the blonde so Naruto did not see the awkwardness on his face.

"Sort of..."

"Hm..." Naruto crossed his arms, watching the boy's backside, contemplating. "What did you tell her anyway?"

"That I was going to have a date with you." Sasuke replied, rolling his eyes. "Of course I told her we had some important school business to attend to. Usuratonkachi."

Naruto scowled at him, but then stopped. "A date?"

Sasuke did not look at him. Naruto's eyes widened a fraction, blush creeping into his cheeks.

"Are you asking me out... on a date?"

Sasuke sighed, his shoulders heaving up. "Yes, dobe. Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Naruto was glad that Sasuke had his back towards him, else he would see the ear splitting grin that spread all over his face and the blush of elation that dusted his cheeks.

"So... this Sunday?" Naruto cheerfully said, trying his hardest not to jump up and down. "Ten o'clock, right?"

"Right."

Naruto started humming tonelessly, and Sasuke had to smile at the obvious jubilance of the blonde. His earlier awkwardness and embarrassment evaporated as his pride was soothed by the blonde's reaction and acceptance.

"Oh, and you're sleeping over tomorrow."

Naruto paused in his humming. "I am?"

"If you want to, that is..." Sasuke gave him a side look. "I already informed your bitch of a lady about it, so you don't have to piss. In fact, I told her we'd be real busy with projects so she agreed to allow you to come over to my place whenever necessary."

Naruto stared at him, disbelief in his tone. "Really?!"

"Yes, really." Sasuke crossed his arms. "So whenever they're roughing you up, run to my place- it isn't that far. I'll handle the rest."

Naruto was embarrassed.

"I'm not some kid who'd go running to his mommy every time I skin my knee." He retorted.

Sasuke scoffed. "Skin your knee all you want. I'll just laugh at you about it. I meant a place to run to- something you can look forward to. Don't go crying around in deserted parks again."

Naruto looked up, surprised. "Who told you that?"

"A little bird." Sasuke kept in a snigger. "A little big bird."

"Huh?"

"Anyway," Sasuke waved a hand. "The point is, I got you a little freedom from that psychotic family, so don't waste it. That's all I could get you without rousing suspicion, so you'd have to bear with it..."

Naruto was gazing at him silently, taking in everything that was relayed to him. Sasuke just gave him a one way ticket to freedom. So what if the only place he could go to was Sasuke's? It wasn't as if he wanted to be anywhere else...

"Did she really agree to that?" Naruto ran up to him till they were shoulder to shoulder, pace to pace, wanting desperately for the hope bubbling inside him to be allowed to grow. "Did she really say it was okay for me to go to you?"

Sasuke glanced at him, smirking lightly. "Yes."

Naruto laughed, clapping his hands in delight.

"Oh Sasuke, I could kiss you!"

Sasuke stopped his tracks, turning and looking intently at the blonde.

"Why don't you?"

Naruto paused, blush creeping into his cheeks.

"It was an expression." He murmured shyly.

Sasuke cocked a brow.

"So you didn't mean it?"

Naruto shook his head, almost hastily. "No! I don't mean that..." he looked down again. "I never said I didn't mean it..."

Sasuke had to fight to keep his face straight. Honestly, the blonde was too cute for words.

"So why don't you?" the boy repeated, honestly enjoying the darkened blush in the blonde's cheeks.

Naruto peered up shyly from the blonde locks falling over his eyes.

"Here?" he looked around the clean, deserted streets of the upper part of the town. This was where white picket fences and prize winning gardens flourished. This was where people who never came out of their houses in broad daylight lived. This was where they were, standing inconspicuously in the middle of the sidewalk, in broad daylight.

Sasuke stepped closer to him. "Mhm."

Naruto looked over the Uchiha's shoulder where the Haruno household was still visible. His opened his mouth to say something, but the dark haired boy had effectively silenced him by cupping his chin, blocking his view to accommodate him, and only him.

Sasuke leaned closer till their lips were touching- and no more closer.

"Kiss me, dobe." He whispered on those trembling lips.

And Naruto closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around the boy, and he did. Their lips finally met in a sweet, sweet kiss that made the blonde feel warm and fuzzy inside. The kiss was slow and almost chaste, the kind that made him blush and feel weak in the knees. He shyly opened his mouth in invitation and waited in anticipation for the dark haired boy to take it.

Sasuke opened his eyes to look at the blonde, who still had his eyes closed. Their mouths were still joined, and Sasuke was aware of the shy but honest invitation given to him. And he wanted to take it, he really did. But...

"Dobe..." Sasuke whispered against those sweet, sweet lips. "Don't tempt me... Not here..."

Naruto nearly groaned. He cracked open his eyes and looked up at the boy's hungry expression and his face turned flaming red.

"Um..." the blonde stammered, looking away. "Sorry... I just... um... I don't know what I was-"

Naruto stiffened when Sasuke leaned down and brushed his lips against his ear, something that always made a shiver rack his entire body. Pressed up against the warm body, the blonde was a little glad that he still had his arms wrapped around Sasuke's shoulders...

"I want to make love to you..."

His eyes widened as his face turned from red, to pale, to flaming red again. Naruto's knees gave then, and he slumped heavily onto the Uchiha.

"S-sasuke..."

"I want to make you mine..." Sasuke whispered, nibbling lightly on the soft flesh of his ear. "All mine..."

Naruto's mouth refused to work, and his voice had disappeared along with his mind. He could only nod as Sasuke shifted him in his arms to hold him up better.

"Tomorrow then..."

The blonde's head shot up in alarm. "Wh-what?"

Sasuke's face was serious. "Tomorrow."

Naruto was torn from the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. A part of him was nearly delirious with anticipation, while a larger part of him- fear- washed over him like a tidal wave.

"Wait," Naruto pushed himself off the Uchiha, his eyes widening. "You can't just tell me things like that- I can't- How will I-"

Sasuke looked at him oddly. "You don't want to?"

"NO!" Naruto surprised even himself by the vehemence his tone. "That's not it! I want to do it with you!" He clamped his mouth shut in embarrassment. "Uh, I meant... That's not... Aw, damn."

Sasuke nearly smiled. Nearly.

"So what's wrong?"

"I- I'm not sure..." he whispered. "It's just that... I don't know... I'm..."

"What?" Sasuke leaned in closer, cupping a hand to his ear. "Sorry, didn't get that."

Naruto raised his eyes to the Uchiha. "I'm afraid."

The wind chose that moment to blow past them, teasing dark and light with its airy fingers, weaving through the soft locks and playfully ruffling up their clothes. Naruto was suddenly overwhelmed with fright, and he stepped away in reflex. He was gazing up the Uchiha with wide eyes, backing away, step by step, till he nearly fell over.

Sasuke was watching him silently, an unreadable look in his eyes, and Naruto's fear escalated. Did Sasuke hate him now? Was it because he refused him? The blonde felt his heart wrench at the notion. No! Sasuke can't hate him! Anyone but Sasuke! In his desperation, the blonde shoved his fear aside and lunged at the raven head.

"Sasuke!" he cried, grasping at the boy's shirt. "Please don't hate me! I'll do it! I'll do it with you! I'll do anything you want me to, just- don't hate me!"

The boy remained silent.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Naruto babbled, looking pleadingly up the raven. "I'll do what you say, Sasuke- whatever you say! So please-"

"Dobe..." Sasuke softly called out.

Naruto's eyes widened as the dark haired boy slowly raised his arms, wrapping them gently around the blonde and held him close. He could only stare out into the horizon as Sasuke silently held him, their breathing mingling and merging into a steady rhythm. Gradually, the tenseness loosened from Naruto's shoulders, and he hesitantly brought his arms up to wrap around the boy. Sasuke let out a deep sigh- and Naruto could have sworn that it was the saddest, most heartbreaking sound he had ever had the chance to hear.

"What have they done to you?" Sasuke softly whispered, running pale fingers gently through the soft blonde locks. "Naruto... look at what they did to you..."

Naruto closed his eyes in wonder, as tears began to fall from his eyes, running gently down his cheeks in slow, mourning paths. He did not know when he started crying- or why. All he knew was, his heart was hurting- hurting more than he ever remembered. Hurting more than he ever hurt before. Sasuke held him closer, but nonetheless did not lose his gentleness. He hushed soothingly as he let the blonde cry, rocking him gently back and forth... back and forth...

"Why Sasuke? Why?"

Naruto did not know why. Why everything. Why he was asking the question. Why he lived such a miserable life. Why the world was blind. Why he felt like this... Why... Why... Why...

Sasuke did not reply, silently holding the blonde.

"I'm so tired of this, Sasuke..." Naruto wept, burying his face into the boy's shoulder. "I'm so tired of all this crying... of being afraid..."

Sasuke sighed again. "I know, dobe... I know..."

"No, you don't... You don't know..." Naruto whispered, yanking his head up to look aguishly at the boy. "You don't know this FEAR- this sick, horrifying feeling I have that threatens to eat me alive. This fear I have that grips me like a man possessed, making me abandon my sanity just to have it disappear!"

"I know, Dobe, and I'm sorry! Sasuke cried, getting upset.

"You don't understand, Sasuke..." Naruto continued, shaking his head. "You don't understand at all..."

"Then tell me." Sasuke snapped. "What is this fear of yours? What the hell are you so afraid of?"

"You Sasuke, YOU!"

Sasuke felt like he had been slapped in the face. He stumbled back in shock and stared at the blonde, breathing heavily. Naruto watched him with pained eyes, curling up into a ball and hugging his knees tightly.

"I'm so afraid of losing you..." Naruto whispered, so heartbreakingly softly. "I'm so afraid of you walking out of my life... of disappearing... of throwing me away... I'm so, so afraid, Sasuke... that it drives me mad. It makes we want to throw everything else away just to make you stay... And this feeling…" Naruto started shaking. "This frightening feeling of abandon, of being undone... It's scary... It's so, so fucking scary..."

Naruto buried his face into his arms and rocked on his heels, trying to calm himself from his hysteria. A dark, heavy silence fell on them and somewhere, in the horizon, the call of birds echoed away, as if consoling them for their loneliness. Sasuke stood still, staring down at the blonde- for how long, no one knew. Even the wind had fallen silent, not daring to even breathe, with the fear of breaking this delicate silence. What can one do with two broken souls? Can they mend each other, or would the break each other more?

Sasuke finally let out a long sigh, dropping down on one knee to level with the blonde. He slowly, tentatively raised a pale hand and rested it on the blonde head.

"Why did it turn out this way?" Sasuke murmured solemnly. "Why must we be so dramatic always?"

Naruto shifted a bit, but murmured a muffled reply. "Because we aren't like everyone else."

"True." Sasuke shrugged.

Silence.

How long it held, how long the world stopped, how long eternity lasted... it stretched agonizingly slow, like the grains of sand falling into an hourglass.

Naruto had stopped shaking now, and it seemed his tears had stopped. Sasuke watched him in contemplating silence, as if waiting... for something... anything...

And then,

"...I'm sorry, Sasuke..."

Sasuke blinked.

"Did I freak you out?"

"Hn..." Sasuke eyed the blonde tentatively, as he tiredly brushed stray tears from his cheeks. "Are you finished now?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Naruto looked up tiredly from his arms, smiling weakly at him. "At least, I've calmed down now..."

Sasuke tried to smile back. Yes... This was how it was... Naruto was broken. He was beaten and broken and now he lay in pieces. Sasuke realized this soon enough, and the latest scenario had just strengthened his anger and determination. He would heal him. He would do it. He won't let anyone else.

"Dobe..." Sasuke sighed, placing a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You know you can't keep doing this. One of these days, you really will come undone- and the damage's gonna be permanent."

Naruto was quiet.

"I don't need a shrink..." he whispered brokenly.

"I'm not saying you need one." Sasuke snapped. "You're not crazy, dobe, no matter how stupid you may act."

Naruto smiled at him weakly.

"All I'm saying is, you need to get out of that hell hole. Soon." Sasuke harrumphed. "You won't achieve anything by staying with them, you're just going to lose your mind."

"I know..."

Sasuke knew he knew.

"This isn't only for your sake, dobe... I won't be able to stand this for long either. Each time, your breaking down hits me deeper and deeper." Sasuke touched the area of his heart.

Naruto looked even more miserable.

"I know..."

"Don't start crying on me again." Sasuke warned.

Naruto scowled at him. "I won't, thanks."

Sasuke got up, grunting as he felt something pop. He held out a hand and helped the blonde up, refusing to comment as he hurriedly wiped stray tears away. The raven head turned to look up at the sky, frowning as he spied the gradually orange-ing sky. Naruto looked up as well, and he smiled weakly.

"What a whirlwind."

Naruto glanced curiously at Sasuke. "Whirlwind?"

The raven head looked at him. "Being with you. It's a whirlwind of events." Sasuke quirked his lips the slightest bit. "You're like the wind, dobe(1)... Always knocking me off my feet."

Naruto flushed a bit. "Uh... Sorry..."

Sasuke shrugged. "I'll get used to it."

The blonde looked uncomfortable. "You don't have to..."

"I want to."

The blush darkened into a hot red, as he tried to fight the slightly pleased smile creeping up his lips. But still, the nagging feeling wouldn't go away.

"Listen, Sasuke-"

"If you're going to tell me to leave you now, while I have the chance- shut up. I don't want to hear it." Sasuke boredly said.

Naruto was concerned. "But Sasuke-"

Sasuke held up hand, trying to look annoyed. "Have I made myself clear?"

Naruto watched him with uncertainly, but hesitantly nodded.

"Good." Sasuke replied. "And while we're at this topic, let's make another thing clear. Don't mention anything about me leaving or you leaving, or us hurting or before it's too late and shit. Don't be such a drama queen."

Naruto couldn't stop the smile making its way to his lips. He slowly nodded in agreement. Sasuke cocked his head to the side, watching him amusedly.

"No more bursting into tears and getting my shirt all ruddy wet."

The blonde blushed indignantly. "Hey!"

Sasuke held out a hand before the blonde could continue. "But if you must cry..." he looked away. "You have to come to me, alright? Don't go ruining other people's clothes. It's rude."

Naruto harrumphed and crossed his arms, refusing to comment. In the peculiar sensation of scowling and smiling at the same time, he didn't exactly trust himself to speak. He was somewhat glad that Sasuke was still the snarky bastard he initially was. At least some things didn't change... But then again, he had this knee-weakening way of saying sweet things without really meaning to. That cute, annoying, knee-weakening snarky bastard...

"It's getting late." The blonde commented.

Sasuke snorted. "Why, so it is."

Sticking out his tongue, Naruto checked his watch. "Hm... I probably still have an hour or two before I need to head back... Can we finish our paper by then?"

"Forget the paper," Sasuke waved a hand. "Let's go."

Naruto squawked as the dark haired boy suddenly grabbed his hand, yanking him back towards the intersection they just passed by.

"Where are we going?" the blonde cried. "Your house is this way!"

Sasuke ignored him and kept walking forward, dragging the blonde with him. Naruto shifted his wrist a bit and slipped his hand into Sasuke's warm ones. He hurried to keep in stride with him, still confused and curious to where they were headed. As far as things were looking, they were heading back towards the Haruno's...

"Sasuke," Naruto began, getting somewhat nervous. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Naruto silently thought that he did not WANT to see. True enough, they stopped right in front of the black, iron gates, and it was like they never even left at all. Before Naruto could find it in himself to pester the Uchiha, Sasuke grabbed his hand and faced the large, looming mansion.

"Listen, you sick, pathetic, sorry excuse of motherfuckers!" Sasuke yelled, throwing his words towards the pale, stone faced mansion. "I'm going to take him away from you, and I'm going to make him mine and there's nothing you can do about it!!"

Naruto gaped at him in alarm, too much in shock to actually do something to stop him.

"You hear that?!" Sasuke continued, at the top of his lungs. "I'll do it! I'll steal him away, and I'm going make him the happiest person in this whole fucking world! You just watch! You bastards! You SICKO'S!!!!"

"Sasuke..." Naruto stammered, finally gathering enough strength to yank on the boy's shirt. "Shut UP! They're going to hear you!!"

"That's the point." Sasuke rolled his eyes, turning back towards the cold, almost stoic looking house, cupping a hand to his mouth. "I'll be dead before you lay a FUCKING hand on him again-!"

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, yanking on him harder, pulling him almost forcefully away from the gates. "Let's move it, you crazy skunk!!"

"I'm gonna make you pay!" Sasuke continued to shout as the blonde (who was trying to fight back a grin) dragged him away. "You are going to be sorry you were ever BORN, every fucking ONE of you- you sick, sick, psychotic FREAKS!"

There was a flutter in the windows and Naruto broke out into a run, Sasuke in tow, speeding down the streets with breakneck speed and hurtling into a deserted alleyway, falling over each other, laughing… laughing... and laughing...

"Jesus!" Naruto gasped, wiping his tears as he desperately tried to catch his breath. They were leaning into each other for support, adrenalin rushing in their veins, the taste of mirth still fresh in their tongues. "That was just CRAZY, you fucking bastard! What the hell were you trying to DO?!"

Sasuke sniffed haughtily, drawing himself up. "I just did what I wanted to do at the spur of the moment."

"Spur of the moment?" Naruto repeated snappishly, but the grin on his face ruined the effect. "You lousy bastard, you're getting me into trouble all over again!"

Sasuke snorted. "I doubt they even heard us."

"What if someone did?" Naruto insisted. In the back of his mind, he remembered the curtain on the third floor window flutter.

Sasuke shrugged. "Just pretend you don't have a fucking clue. After all, you were supposed to be with me, at my house, doing that paper."

Naruto was not convinced. "If you say so..."

"I say so."

They waited a few more moments for their breathing to return to normal, comfortable silence falling upon them as their surroundings burned orange. Naruto gazed down at his hands in contemplation, and he turned his gaze onto the dark haired boy.

"Sasuke?"

The boy turned to look at him expectantly.

"I'm really, really glad you think of me that way." Naruto whispered, taking a small step towards the boy. "And... well... if, you know... tomorrow..."

Sasuke bonked him on the head.

"Ow!" Naruto cried, rubbing his head incredulously. "What the hell?!"

"You idiot." Sasuke announced.

"What?!"

"I won't do anything, if you don't want to." Sasuke simply said, cocking an eyebrow. "It's not worth it if you won't be willing, anyway."

Naruto blushed at the casual way he talked about it, nervously looking around as if expecting people to be eavesdropping.

"But I'm willing." Naruto insisted, looking down. "It's just... I don't know what to do..."

Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes. "I think I prefer it that way. It just proves that I'm going to be your first..." a strange glint entered Sasuke's eyes. "I am... aren't I?"

Naruto quickly looked up, looking scandalized. "Sasuke!"

"What?"

"How can you talk about this so... so..." he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "...so casually!"

"Just because I don't act like a blushing virgin doesn't mean I'm not sincere." Sasuke argued.

Naruto's eyes widened. Blushing virgin!

"Why are we even talking about this?" the blonde hotly said, his embarrassment getting the better of him.

"We're teenagers." Sasuke spread out his arms. "We're supposed to talk about this. Did you think sex was like some fairy tale or something? People don't just jump into bed and fuck happily ever after."

Naruto glared at him. "Well excuse me for being clueless. I haven't had much EXPERIENCE."

Sasuke smirked at him. "Yeah... I figured."

The blonde swore.

"Come on, dobe..." Sasuke stretched, grabbing the blond by the hand. "Let's get going... You can have dinner at my place."

Naruto was still brooding, but visibly perked up at the notion of food. "Really? I can?"

"That's what I said."

Naruto followed the Uchiha out to the streets, jumping around in anticipation. "Do you eat with your family?" He paused. "Oh yeah, I forgot..."

Sasuke did not reply. They walked briskly towards their destination, wary of the darkening sky and the chill it brought. Sasuke was walking so fast, Naruto nearly had to run to catch up.

"Hey Sasuke..." Naruto breathed, breaking to a jog. "When was the last time you had dinner with your dad?"

Sasuke snorted. "I don't remember."

"You don't remember?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "...Or you don't want to remember?"

"Both."

"Well, was it recently?"

"Maybe." Sasuke vaguely recalled the pitiful day he saw his father dearest, and amusedly remembered following the blonde to the supermarket. But... Naruto didn't have to know that.

"Hn…" Naruto trailed off. "I think I want to meet your dad."

"No, you don't." Sasuke's tone turned cold.

"Why not?"

"You don't."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Alright... I don't."

They reached the mansion soon enough, and the gate opened to admit them. Sasuke had ushered the blonde inside, and did not break his brisk pace till they were safe and warm inside the spacious, circular receiving room. Naruto watched Sasuke turn up the heater, as he helped himself with the numerous plaques and trophies adorning the shelf to the right. He read off the titles, one by one, and he observed that Itachi had many a trophy in various fields of education, while Sasuke dominated the athletic area.

"Sasuke..." Naruto called out, trailing his eyes on the latest trophy (Newton . "Were you guys, like, prodigies or something?"

Sasuke padded over, frowning down at the awards. "Itachi was considered a child genius when he was barely four. They say he's got some impossibly high IQ and shit... If you ask me, all that IQ fucked up his mind real bad."

Naruto laughed. "Maybe." He gestured over to a smaller clump of trophies. "Yours?"

Sasuke shrugged. "They're mainly soccer trophies... MVP's… Year end honors... shit like that."

"Uh huh..." Naruto bent over to read the titles more clearly. "Most Outstanding Student… Most Valuable player... People's choice..." he raised an amused brow. "Golden ball award... Junior's Champion league… NCA Soccer league… Regional Champions..." he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "National Championship MVP?!"

Sasuke remained impassive.

"You were a National soccer MVP?" Naruto cried, staring at Sasuke.

The boy shrugged. "Just for a year."

"You guys went to the Nationals?" Naruto was awestruck. "And you WON?"

"No, we didn't." Sasuke frowned distastefully. "Our idiot of a captain made some spectacular mistakes. Cost us our championship title."

"Oh..." Naruto fell silent. "But you got the MVP award..."

"Yes, I did." Sasuke touched the trophy. "And this year, I'm going to make sure we win the nationals." He smirked at the blonde. "Right...? Manager-kun..."

"The Nationals…" Naruto whispered in awe. "From my old school, the Nationals were like- every person's dream..."

The quirk of the lips widened and Sasuke stepped up closer to the blonde, who was immediately entranced by those dark, dark eyes as they stared down from above him.

"Every person's dream huh? Even yours?"

"Mm..." Naruto murmured incoherently, his baby blues wandering almost wonderingly across pale cheeks and red lips, positively aware of their soft breaths intermingling. "Mm hm..."

Sasuke bent closer, till their lips were barely touching, a sweet torturous reminder of what happened not moments ago... Naruto's breath hitched as he remembered the feel of those soft lips... the intoxicating taste...

What little fear that had blossomed in his heart gradually melted away at the familiar scents and senses that was Sasuke...

"Sasuke..."

"I'll make your dreams come true..." Sasuke slowly whispered against Naruto's trembling lips, gently ghosting over smooth, flushed cheeks and across the pert nose.

And their lips finally- finally reunited, and their kiss was sweet and hungry and breathless. Naruto abandoned all his reserve and poured himself into the kiss, ignoring the voice in his head screaming at him to run- run far, far away where he wouldn't get hurt. His mind tells him no... but his heart told him otherwise. This was Sasuke... He wouldn't hurt him... Not Sasuke...

Naruto was first to come up for air, but took only half a second to breathe before plunging back into the warm, delicious cavern, pleasantly surprising Sasuke by his aggressiveness. The dark haired Uchiha slowly backed up, leading them to the couch and pulling the blonde atop him. Their kiss never broke, and grew hungrier and hungrier as moans spilled out from the blonde's mouth, further encouraging Sasuke.

Sasuke was intoxicated. He was high. The blonde was like the sweetest drug, the aphrodisiac that runs through his veins. But still, through the pleasured haze and bliss, Sasuke never allowed himself to lose control, and kept his hands strictly above the belt. He did not forget about the earlier scenario... He knew it was still too early...

But dear Kami... The blonde was proving too much to handle...

"Naruto..."

The blonde couldn't even answer, as Sasuke nibbled lightly on his neck, arching his back like a kitten being stroked.

"How do you expect me to keep my control when you make faces like that?" Sasuke murmured to himself, licking a sinful trail up his neck He kissed his way up to those tempting, inviting lips and kissed him again, and again and again... Naruto responded fervently, wrapping his arms around the taller boy and pressing closer in an attempt to meld their bodies into one.

Sasuke was about to lose the last of his control, when a voice shattered their passionate world like a rude rock crashing into glass and breaking it into tiny million pieces.

"Well, well... Isn't this a nice development."

Sasuke swung around in shock and rage, his eyes landing on the slightly surprised but amused looking Itachi.

"Oh FUCK."

"Yes, I got the idea." agreed Itachi, leering at the blonde, who stared back at him, horrified. "And you were doing pretty well, if I do say so myself."

"Get out!" Sasuke yelled, blocking his psychotic mess of a brother's view of the cowering blonde. "Get the fuck OUT!"

"If you remember, I live here..." Itachi calmly replied, setting the package in his hand onto a small stand table. "I can stay here and watch you fuck if I want to..."

"Fine, then WE are leaving." Sasuke snarled, grabbing onto the blonde's shaking hand. "Come on, dobe."

"Don't tell me..." Itachi raised a brow, surveying the couple with an amused air. "You haven't done it yet?"

Naruto turned an alarming shade of red while Sasuke practically spitted fire.

"None of your fucking business!" Sasuke spat in reply, moving towards the door, where Itachi conveniently stood by.

The older Uchiha watched them with a calculating gleam, and Sasuke did NOT like the smile etched on those lips. His steps quickened as he dragged the silent blonde along, refusing to make eye contact as he strode past Itachi.

"Don't worry, dear brother... I am going to help you..."

Sasuke spun around, his eyes widening in slight alarm and irritation.

"I don't need help and certainly not from YOU!" he furiously said, then he spun around in indignation and strode out the door, a slightly confused Naruto on tow.

Itachi remained in the now mockingly silent room, staring contemplatingly into space. The smile on his face widened to a smirk as his brain started to tick... tick... tick...

"I am going to help you..."


	23. You

AN:

To my darling readers of TWTS:

Holah! XD

I am finally well. You will not believe how sick I became... -.- It seems my 'feeling under the weather' evolved into a full fledged flu that kept me bedridden for several weeks. Bleh. But so what... I am well now! I am alive! XD

I was surprised and mighty pleased when I read the reviews for the last chapter. It seems that quite a lot had found the scene where Sasuke was yelling at the house adoringly funny. Hurrah! Wave your hands up in the air!! I LOVED that part!! XD Although I was a bit hesitant to keep that part and I was unsure whether you guys would find it as funny and amusing as I thought it, I went head on and posted it anyway because I remembered that, hey, this is my story and this is my journey, so- it's probably okay if I write whatever the heck I want. And I was sure anyway, that you wonderful darlings would appreciate what runs through my crazy, chaotic and whimsical mind. And if you didn't... well, can't please the world, can I? XD

Oh dear, I AM babbling again... I'm sure you darlings are itching to read on, so I'll shut up now! XD Without further ado, the next chappie! DO review and tell me what you think: What your favorite part was. What your NOT mucho favorite part was. What you liked but did not like. Heck, I don't mind if you tell what you had for lunch. XD I swear, it means the WORLD to authors. (Especially me!)

Sweets forever!

cookie.

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**You**

"This heart, it beats for only you."

Paramore

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Chapter 23

"I think somebody saw us."

Sasuke barely spared a glance at the blonde, as he led the way up the graceful sweep of the stairs. Naruto was looking at him seriously, a hand grasping the backpack he clutched to his shoulders.

"Sakura. It was her. She saw us."

"Hn."

Naruto furrowed his brows as the Uchiha continued climbing up.

"She was glaring at me, you know? With this look in her eyes... She was probably the one behind those curtains yesterday- Sasuke, are you listening?"

"Hn."

"Sasuke, I mean it. I think Sakura really saw us." Naruto insisted, following the other boy up the stairs to his room. "Honestly, I was surprised the entire street didn't see us."

"And so?" Sasuke snorted, not even giving a backward glance. "I don't give a shit about who saw us."

"YOU might not give a shit, but I sure do." Naruto replied hotly, annoyed at how stupid the boy sounded. "I don't know if you're doing this on purpose, Sasuke, but you are NOT helping me any by running around yelling your lungs out on people's backyards about me!"

Sasuke flung around, and Naruto had to stifle a yelp as they were suddenly so close, nose to nose, eye to eye...

"And I don't think you understand what being seen with me actually means." Sasuke hissed, his eyes boring straight into the blonde's wide blue ones. "It means you're with ME, it means whoever the fuck touches you gotta answer to ME, and whoever answers to ME, answers to the name of god fucking UCHIHA. Do you get it?"

Naruto merely gaped at him.

Sasuke kept quiet as he turned his back to the blonde, marching up the stairs and into the hallway as if nothing happened. It took a few seconds for his words to register, but when it did, Naruto bolted after him.

"S-so, you planned all this? You wanted it to happen?!" Naruto asked, his eyes still wide open.

"No. Like I said, I did it at a whim of mine."

Naruto stopped in his tracks, his mouth hanging open. "What?"

Sasuke glanced back at him, and the blonde swore he saw a hint of a grin. "That's why I'm called a genius."

He opened the door to his room.

There were several things in Sasuke's room... Although a bit TOO clean to be a room for an average teenage boy, it was a ROOM and it was NORMAL. Naruto viciously remembered stumbling into a room that had looked right out of an occult, complete with various sets of leather whips and what suspiciously looked like voodoo dolls. Sasuke did not have to say for Naruto to understand that it was, strictly, and Itachi-centric room. It made the blonde appreciate what he saw inside the (still) ridiculously neat room- the once carpeted, now mahogany wooden floors, the vintage wallpapers and the shelves of books. The nerdy looking computer sitting silently in one corner, the low table at the center, the walk in cabinets and the queen sized poster bed. Only ONE queen sized poster bed.

Uh oh.

"Sasuke?"

The Uchiha shut the door close, looking up at the blonde in question. Naruto tried not to gulp.

"Where was I going to sleep again?" he laughed nervously.

Sasuke stared at him.

"You're sleeping here, dobe." The Uchiha crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. "Or did you want to sleep OUT side when ITACHI's around skulking like the freak he is?"

Naruto shuddered. "Oh man, you did NOT have to remind me. I'm not leaving your fucking room even if you force me to."

"Preferably." Sasuke agreed.

"So... where am I going to sleep?" the blonde asked again, in a small voice.

"On the floor." Sasuke replied. "I'll lay out a futon for you."

"Oh." Naruto tried not to show his relief (or disappointment?), trying an indignant look. "But I'm the guest, aren't I? Shouldn't the guest get the bed?"

"You're no guest." Sasuke snorted. "You're just a dobe who's going to crash for the night."

"Same difference." Naruto muttered.

The blonde suddenly straightened up, as if remembering something. "Hey Sasuke, can I use your phone?"

Sasuke pointed behind the blonde, where a sleek, black telephone rested inconspicuously camouflaged on the black table. Naruto thanked him and picked up the receiver, quickly punching in the number. He drummed his fingers as he waited for the other line to pick up.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-

"..."

Naruto paused. "Hello?"

There was a pregnant silence across the line, and Naruto had to strain his ear to hear the soft, rather irregular breathing sounds that assured him there was someone on the other side.

"Hello? May I please speak to Kiba please?"

A pause.

"...Naruto?"

"Kiba?"

The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as there was a loud exhale of relief that practically carried over to the receiver.

"What's going on? Why are you acting all weird?" he asked.

"You have to save me." Kiba rasped into the phone, and Naruto's brows shot up in alarm at the quiet desperation laced in his tone. "I'm going mad."

"What? What's wrong?" Naruto urgently asked, gripping the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. From the bed, Sasuke curiously looked up. "Kiba, what's going on?"

"...Devil... Evil...-mumble-mumble-...Satan himself... demon... bleh!"

"Kiba?!" Naruto started to panic. "Quit muttering stuff and SAY SOMETHING!"

"...give... lousy... report... gonna die... stupid..."

"What is-"

"GAARA!"

Naruto stopped short, glancing incredulously at the receiver. "...Huh?"

"He's driving me insane!" Kiba cried, and Naruto heard a loud thump. "He's a DEVIL! A DEMON! And I swear to GOD he is out to get me!!"

Naruto frowned. "Kiba... What the HELL are you talking about?"

Kiba began yelling something gibberish and Naruto had no choice but to hang up on him.

"Crazy mutt." He muttered bewilderedly, staring hard at the phone. "...Maybe it was something he ate?"

"What's the matter?"

Naruto looked up. "Hm? Oh, I was about to ask Kiba to do my shift at Ichiraku's for me. I can't afford to miss any more, ya know? I was about to offer to split the money with him..."

Sasuke snorted. "You can always borrow money from me, dobe."

Naruto huffed indignantly. "Do I look like some charity case to you? I don't DO that Sasuke, so forget it."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The blonde tapped a finger on one hip, trying to come up with a solution. "I can't call Gaara, cuz he's probably at Ichiraku's right now... Even if he isn't, I can't risk calling him at his place... Shikamaru? Nah, what was I thinking... Chouji… Uh... No, not right..." He scratched his head. "...Shino?" He blinked. "Oh, no way, he might spike the food with his bugs... NOT cool..."

He paused, and Sasuke could practically see the wheels on his head turn one last time before finally breaking down. Naruto looked defeated.

"Should I...? Naw... I can't..." The blonde gnawed at his lip. "But it's my only choice..."

He picked up the phone and slowly began to dial a number. "Oh God, I hope I'm doing the right thing..."

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Naruto flexed his fingers, half of him praying that there was no one home; half praying that someone would quickly pick up the goddamn phone.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-

"Hello?"

"H-hello...?" Naruto squeaked.

"Hello? Hello? Who is speaking?"

The blonde cleared his throat. "Hi... It's Naruto-"

"NARUTO!"

The blonde jumped.

"My dear, DEAR friend! How very SPIFFING to have you call me! Ahh! The simple joys of YOUTH!! Splendid! Marvelous! It brings tears to my EYES!!"

Naruto winced and held the receiver away from his ear. From the bed, he could hear Sasuke snort in mixed disbelief and disgust.

"Ah, yeah... It's good to hear from you too, Lee..." Naruto quickly continued, before the boy could go on his tirade. "I'm having a bit of a trouble right now, Lee, and I need your help. Would you... do me a favor?"

"ANYTHING, my friend! Anything to help you!" Lee replied eagerly. "What must I do? Name your quest, and I, Rock Lee, shall exert all my power and effort to accomplish the noble task!"

"Er, I appreciate it Lee, I really do." Naruto stammered. "But I, um, just need you to do my shift for me."

There was a pause. "...Shift?"

Naruto flushed. "Um, yeah, shift. You know, in part time jobs?"

"OH!" the green-clad boy finally understood, and his energy (if possible) rose several levels highter. "A CHALLENGE! Do not worry, dear friend! This is a call of the youth! I will do everything in my power to answer it!"

"Uh, yeah, it's a job at Ichirakus..." Naruto hurriedly explained, fearing the boy would hang up on him soon. "You're already late, actually. You think you can make it?"

"Can I?!" Lee cried, and the blonde could practically see him puffing up his chest. "You just wait and see, Naruto! I will be up there and working before you can even say 'goodbye'!"

click

And the line went dead...

"...Goodbye." Naruto sighed, slowly placing the receiver back to its cradle. "Oh god, goodbye."

"It's no use worrying about it." Sasuke finally spoke up from his position, now seated on the low table. He was lazily leafing through a large book, occasionally scribbling something in a piece of paper. "You just did what you had to do and there's nothing you can do to change it now."

Naruto looked at him.

"Do you think I made the wrong decision?"

"Yes." Was his immediate reply.

Naruto sighed miserably. "I thought so."

"But what's done is done."

"Yeah..." the blonde agreed, settling down beside the raven head and opening his own textbook. "I'm done for."

They spent hours like that. In contemplating silence, as the pored over their research and writing down data to be included in their report. They were already halfway through the paper, and Naruto was hoping they would get it done today. All this thermodynamics shit is making his head hurt.

"Done."

Naruto looked up from his paper. "Already?"

"Come on, Dobe. Just give me your part so I can type this into the computer already." Sasuke worked on the crick in his neck, sighing as there was a loud satisfying pop.

"Oh, that feels good..."

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "I wish you'd stop doing that."

"Doing what?" he shifted his shoulders, and several more joints popped into place. "This?"

The blonde shivered, scowling at him. "It can't be healthy for your bones to sound like that."

"It can't?" Sasuke mockingly cracked a few more joints, starting from his hands up to his arms.

Naruto covered his ears in horror. "You beast! What have you done to yourself?!"

"Oh shut up and finish that up." Sasuke stifled the grin that threatened to crack on his face, instead turning over to the computer and busying himself with the typing job.

Naruto gave a harrumph that sounded something like 'bastard' and 'crabmeat' and went back silently to pore on his scribbled notes.

Silence stretched once again into minutes... minutes bled to hours... and hours bled to... um, even longer hours... Sasuke let out a large sigh and leant back his chair. He turned his head to free the cricks on his neck again, letting out a satisfied moan. Man, that always feels good... The Uchiha glanced over to the blonde.

"Dobe, are you done yet?"

Silence answered his query. Furrowing his brows, the Uchiha swiveled around his chair to face the blonde, suddenly realizing it had been quieter than usual for the past few minutes.

"I don't believe it..."

Sasuke stared incredulously at the blonde who had his head rested atop his pile of books, snoring peacefully into kingdom come as blissfully as you please.

"He fell asleep on me." Sasuke's tone was slightly accusing, slightly exasperated; But he could not find himself to get angry with the blonde. He stood up and padded over to the blonde, gently hoisting him up on one arm.

"Dobe... If you're going to fall asleep on me, the least you can do is do it on the bed." Sasuke muttered, dragging him to the awaiting matress, trying his best not to wake him up. He shouldn't have bothered worrying- the blonde slept through the transfer like a dead log.

The dark eyed Uchiha sighed and picked up the paper that was left on Naruto's workspace. His eye twitched as he spied a doodle or two of some rooster head and a... mushroom?

"Dobe." He rolled his eyes.

Picking up the purple covers of his bed, he threw them over the blonde and tucked him in. Gently brushing away the blonde locks away from the slumbering face, Sasuke leaned in and lightly pressed his lips against his cheeks.

"Night."

He did not stir at all for the rest of the night.

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It was barely dawn when the blonde woke up.

And contrary to popular belief, waking up in somebody else's bed without knowing how you got there was not entirely unpleasant. It just felt... weird.

For one thing, he bed was abnormally soft and warm.

"What...?" The blonde mumbled incoherently, staring dully at the purple sheets in front of him. "Mm... sleep..."

Naruto tried shaking his head to clear his thoughts, somewhat hating that feeling of mid-awareness and sleep. It always felt as if he were falling... falling into an abyss he knew wasn't real but was there anyway. He let his half lidded eyes roam the cool, dark room, eyeing the air-conditioner whirring gently by the corner. It looked like it had been on the entire night. The drapes were shut and fluttering gently, but Naruto did not need to look outside to know that he'd been asleep for hours.

"What time is it anyway?" Naruto muttered to himself, trying to look for a clock. He spied a digital alarm clock stoically proclaiming that it was currently two in the bloody morning.

The blonde stretched his arms and yawned, feeling light and ridiculously contented for some reason. He stood up and padded over to the air-conditioning, fiddling with the pads till it shuddered dead. It was getting cold anyway. Turning away, he finally spotted the figure lying on the floor, an arm thrown over his eyes. He padded over and stared down at the sleeping form. And kept staring.

The Uchiha had carelessly piled together some comforters as a makeshift bed and apparently, spent the night on the floor. Feeling guilty and somewhat horrible for allowing the boy to sleep on the cold, hard floor, Naruto dropped to his knees and reached out to him with the intent of transferring him to the bed. But before he could even touch him, the arm fell away from Sasuke's face and Naruto was helpless at what he saw.

Beautiful...

Was the word that flooded his mind, as he stared at the expression on that pale, pale face. Sasuke was truly gorgeous… Naruto was suddenly reminded of the fairytales he had read as a child, and he remembered that he had always loved the fair and beautiful people he saw illustrated in them.

Naruto raised a hand and touched the face reverently, tracing the shadows under his eyes made by his lashes. He was filled with wonder and... something... That unexplainable emotion that you feel when you look at something overwhelmingly wondrous and you realize that it is yours... All yours... And you realize you must be the luckiest bastard in the whole, whole universe…

"What have I done to deserve you?" he whispered, entranced.

And slowly, like in fairytales do, his eyes slowly fluttered open, and Naruto's breath caught in his throat as he stared into pure, ebony blacks. Sasuke blinked a few times, staring sleepily and curiously up the blonde.

"Morning..." the blonde whispered, and he couldn't tear his eyes away...

"...Morning." Sasuke murmured back. Naruto shivered at the deep and husky voice. Bedroom voice. Absolutely yet unconsciously dripping with sex.

Suddenly overcome with affection and emotion for this man, Naruto gently planted a kiss on Sasuke's cheeks, resting his head on his chest. "You should have just slept on the bed."

"Mhm... I didn't want to frighten you." Was Sasuke's muffled reply, as he shifted to accommodate the blonde. Naruto gratefully accepted the invitation and lay beside him, feeling ridiculously delighted as warm arms wrapped around him to pull him closer.

"I wouldn't have minded…" Naruto whispered back, nestling his head on Sasuke's shoulders and shyly slipping his arm around his waist.

"Yes, you would." Sasuke muttered, closing his eyes and promptly going back to sleep.

Naruto quietly listened to his slow breathing, watching the rise and fall of his chest. Nestled against him, the blonde could also hear his heartbeat, and he marveled at the life pulsating through this wondrous being- telling him, proving to him that he was real and he was no fairytale.

Naruto huddled closer to the Uchiha, closing his eyes as sleep once again brought him away. His last thoughts before surrendering to dreamland was that he couldn't bear to lose this person...

He couldn't afford to.

...And so they slept.

Huddled together on the floor, warm and comfortable than they could ever be. Naruto had let himself be pulled into this wonderland, and he did not mind staying in it. As long as Sasuke was there... he would never mind...

...And so they dreamed.

But his dreams were not exactly dreams.

They were swirling clouds of multiple colors; Dancing... Swaying... Falling into each other and bleeding away... Naruto watched it turn into the sky, stretching endlessly and eternally. It swirled into blend of orange... bleeding into reddish hue... then spiraling into a shade of violet. It reminded the blonde of those optic visualizers he often saw on Sakura's computer. Curiouser and curiouser.

But then, suddenly, he was falling...

Falling and falling endlessly and eternally…

He could not scream... he could not move... He could not grasp at anything to pull him up. Where was up? Was he even falling downwards? Or sideward? He could not tell... He could not know. But he knew he had to do something, or he would not be able to wake up.

Wake up...? Was he sleeping? Was he dreaming? Was this all not real? Illusionary? What is real? Where was he? Where did he come from?

And then Naruto realizes this feeling... He recognizes it… He grasps the sensation, the sickness in the pit of his stomach, the falling... He must awake... He must escape from this suspension of nothingness... Of being asleep... and awake.

Wake up...

Wake up, Naruto...

Wake up!

Wake up!!!

"WAKE UP!"

The blonde's eyes snapped open.

"What?"

And just as suddenly, he had stopped falling. Naruto looked up to find dark eyes staring down at him with slight alarm and annoyance.

"What the hell were you dreaming of, Usuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked irritably. "You were flaying your arms like a Wildman."

Naruto merely stared.

Sasuke sighed and sat up, stretching and working on the cricks on his back. Naruto chose not to comment as several joints popped once again. He'd have the last laugh once the other boy got down with arthritis anyway.

"Did you sleep okay?" Naruto tentatively asked, slowly sitting up; the last of his dreams slipping away from his mind till he could barely remember it.

"Well enough." Sasuke replied, getting up and padding over to the windows. "You?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded, slowly getting up as well. "Your bed is ridiculously soft. What the hell did you stuff it with?"

"Hair."

Naruto blanched.

"I was kidding, dobe."

"Don't." Naruto scowled at him. "It does the world harm, I swear it does."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled back the drapes, looking out the sky.

"Hn... looks like it's gonna rain."

"Really?" Naruto walked over to him and peered outside. "How can you tell? It isn't even bright enough yet."

"I can tell."

"Uh huh."

"D'you want breakfast?"

Naruto blinked.

"...Now?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Does it matter when we have it?"

"Not really." Naruto frowned, checking the clock. "But it's not even six yet."

"Like I said, does it matter?"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

"I'll go down and get it. What will you have?"

"Anything's fine."

"In my book, there's no such thing as 'anything'." Sasuke crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at him "Either you tell me what you want, or I tell you what you want."

The blonde snorted.

"I'll have what you'll have, then."

Sasuke did not like his reply.

"Look, dobe. I know that you weren't exactly raised with many privileges and choice was something you never really had. So now I'm giving you this privilege to choose what you want."

Naruto blinked at him.

"Anything's fine, really-"

"What. Do. YOU. Want?" Sasuke punched every word with a glare. "Just name it dobe, and I don't care if I have to go to fucking Italy to get you a plate of pasta."

The blonde gazed at him; at the stubborn and cool face looking expectantly back at him.

"...I'll have pancakes." He slowly said.

"Pancakes." Sasuke repeated.

Naruto nodded. "I've always wanted to try those really nice looking, golden brown pancakes that aren't burnt. With maple syrup and butter. And jam." He added as an afterthought.

"And Jam." Sasuke agreed, rolling his eyes. "Juice?"

"Do you have orange?" Naruto hesitantly asked.

"Yes, we have orange." Sasuke snorted.

"Then I'll have orange." Naruto huffed.

"Of course you will."

"Just get me my breakfast!" Naruto snappishly said, aiming a pillow at him. "And I want it brought in a tray, with a flower in a vase just like they do in the movies!"

Sasuke popped his head through the door where he had scrambled out to dodge the pillow. "Anything you want, princess."

He quickly shut the door as another pillow came sailing his way. Naruto grumbled.

"Why is it that every time I feel like throwing pillows, he gets away through the damn door?!"

Sasuke heard him.

"Because every time you feel like throwing pillows is when I feel like dodging them!" he loudly said, as he started to descend the stairs. "And that's a fact!"

A muffled curse was all he got.

Sasuke snickered. "This is just too fun."

Back inside the room, Naruto had gone back to murdering the pillows, throwing them across the room in the pretense of practicing his aim.

"Asshole." He swore. "I swear he gets a kick out of getting me angry. That masochistic sadist."

He ran out of pillows.

"Did I even make sense?" he hotly asked the ceiling.

Obviously, he did not receive a reply.

"Hmph." Naruto stood up and started to gather the pillows strewn across the room, picking them up and placing them back on their respective places. As he picked up another, and then yet another, he began to feel repentant on his sudden lash at the poor, innocent stuffed things and began fluffing them up in atonement.

"It wasn't your fault." Naruto agreed, as he settled the last of the pillows back on the bed. "It wasn't your fault he was born a sadistic bastard."

At loss for anything else to do, he began to gather up the blankets and comforters strewn on the floor and began neatly folding them, piling them up on the side. He patted the last of them to place and stood up to stretch. He plopped down onto the bed and closed his eyes. He'd take a short rest while Sasuke's gone... It'd take a while, anyway...

The door creaked open and Naruto eye's snapped open.

"What, finished already?" Naruto loudly said, staring up the ceiling.

"Not quite, blondie dearest..."

Naruto felt his blood run cold as every fiber of his being started screaming warning bells to his head. He recognized that voice... Oh no... Oh dear god, no...

He sat up.

"Itachi?" he squeaked.

The older Uchiha indeed stood there, frighteningly by the bed, and Naruto half wondered how the man could have gotten there so fast.

"Wh-what... I mean, how? Er... Hi." The blonde finished lamely.

"Good morning, Naruto. How very nice to see you again."

"Erm," Naruto squirmed. "Ditto. I mean, yeah... me too... I think..."

Itachi gestured lightly on the bed. "Good sleep?"

"Huh?" the blonde glanced uneasily at the sheets. "It's not what you think-! I mean, uh, yeah, the bed's real comfy." he pounded a little too hard on the mattress. "Real firm... and uh, soft... haha... Wanna see?"

"Indeed."

Naruto immediately regretted what he said as Itachi moved to sit down in one fluid motion, the mattress barely making a sound as it sunk to accommodate the sudden weight. Trying his hardest not to lose his nerve, the blonde tried to inch away as inconspicuously as possible.

"I like your nightwear." came Itachi's seemingly honest comment.

Naruto blushed. "Yeah, it's cool..."

"Frogs."

"They're in season." The blonde defended.

"Indeed. I should buy myself a pair, don't you agree?"

There came a disturbing flash of Itachi wearing gama-chan prints, and it brought shivers down his spine.

"No wait... Maybe it isn't such a good idea..."

Itachi just stared at him. Naruto wanted to stare back... but then he found out he couldn't for the life of him.

"You didn't do it yet."

Naruto choked. Itachi watched silently as the blonde's face burned red and waited for him to calm down.

"EXCUSE me?" Naruto cried.

"You didn't have sex." The man clarified, looking pointedly at the blonde. "I can tell."

Naruto merely gaped at him, not believing what he heard. He was too busy being shocked and mortified that he never saw it coming... Never saw Itachi coming till he was looming over his head and pinning him down on the mattress...

"Hey!" Naruto yelped, suddenly finding his hands immobile and pinned above him. "What the hell?! Let GO of me!"

"Don't worry, little boy... Big brother's going to help you..." Itachi murmured, grinning (quite psychotically) down at the petrified blonde. "You won't have to be a virgin for long..."

"Oh no..." Naruto whispered strickenly, his eyes widening in horror as onslaughts of emotions battled within him. Unwanted memories flashed before his eyes and Itachi's face suddenly morphed into something uglier... something more frightening and sickening...

"No... please..."

"Sasuke's been a very, very bad boy... Leaving his little blondie alone in the room, with big bad wolf in the house." Itachi murmured amusedly, tickling the blonde's ear with his lips. "But it suits my purpose just fine..."

"Don't... I'm begging you..." Naruto pleaded, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "Don't do this to Sasuke..."

"To Sasuke?" Itachi repeated, raising a brow. "My, my... Aren't you more concerned about yourself?"

Naruto merely gasped in reply as a rough hand began unbuttoning his top shirt.

"NO! Please!" Naruto cried, struggling desperately to free his hands. "You can't do this!"

"Well, well..." Itachi's tone was strange as he gazed at the blonde's now exposed stomach. "What do we have here?"

Naruto bit his lip as he felt ghosting fingers trail down his navel.

"Interesting tattoo..." his eyes bore into the blondes. "You got this where...?"

Naruto did not reply.

"It looks like a burn from a cigarette butt."

The blonde's eyes widened in alarm.

"I must know where you got it... Very creative..." Itachi continued. "I myself have several tattoos. I was thinking of getting my eyes tattooed next. What do you think?"

Naruto wanted to yell at him: FREAK!

"But back to matters at hand..." Itachi trailed a finger down the blonde's stomach, watching him shiver in response.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto groaned, fighting the urge to retch.

Itachi's lips slowly turned up in a slow, rather maniacal grin, ghosting his fingers over one nipple and making Naruto jerk.

"I have my reasons..."

"Please don't..." Naruto whispered, trembling. "I won't be able to take it anymore..."

"Don't worry, Naruto..." Itachi whispered back. "I will be _very _gentle..."

The blonde helplessly closed his stricken eyes in defeat as the shadow looming over him leaned in closer... and closer...

As he felt the first ghost of breath on his lips, tears fell down his cheeks and he could only whisper one name...

"Sasuke..."

CRASH!!!!

Naruto's eyes snapped open as the noise resounded in his mind, feeling pathetically relieved, frightened and delirious as the pressure on him lifted and Itachi's attention turned to the now open door. The blonde dared to turn his head to look at his savior.

"Sasuke..."

"What. The. FUCK..."

The dark eyed, white faced, younger Uchiha stood shock still, with a stunned expression on his face. The breakfast tray he once held in his hands now lay in a heap by his feet. And he was furious. Abso-fucking-lutely furious.

"ITACHI!"

"Oh dear, I'm afraid I'll have to cut this short." Itachi murmured, releasing the blonde from his captivity. "Be good now."

"FUCK YOU!"

He quickly moved away to dodge the fist violently thrown towards his face, landing on the mahogany floors with effortless grace. Sasuke did not waste time lingering by the bed and lunged once more, hell bent on destroying the sonofabitch's face. Permanently.

"You ASSHOLE! Can't you keep your filthy hands to yourself for ONCE in your damn fucking life!" Sasuke yelled, throwing well-aimed, power packed blows which the older Uchiha easily bypassed. "I can't BELIEVE you, you FREAK!"

"Now, now... Let's not be too hasty." Itachi calmly said, landing a particularly harsh blow on Sasuke's guts, making him double up in pain.

The older man watched his brother fall to his knees, coughing violently onto the shiny wooden floor.

"It is time for me to go, I think..." Itachi bore a calculating eye on the younger Uchiha, smiling something funny.

He knelt down beside the still hacking brother and whispered into his ear...

"Go for it, little brother."

And just like that, he disappeared.

Sasuke coughed, trying to get his wind back and at the same time, trying to figure out what Itachi had said. He breathed in a few times. Fucking asshole... had to hit him where it hurt.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, are you okay?!"

The Uchiha looked up and watched the blonde scramble out of the bed and kneel beside him... And then, his heart broke.

"S-sasuke??"

"Dobe..." Sasuke murmured, at loss for words at the expression on the blonde's face. He reached out a hand and touched the blonde's tear stained face. "Dobe... don't cry..."

Naruto's breath hitched into a wretched sob, and he grasped at the hand on his face.

"I was so... fucking… scared..." Naruto sobbed brokenly, burying his face on Sasuke's neck and throwing his arms around him. "So... so... scared..."

"I know... I know..." Sasuke murmured, and he wanted to scream out in frustration. FUCK ITACHI! FUCK HIM TO HELL!

He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and held the blonde instead. "I'm so sorry, dobe... I should have known... I shouldn't have left you alone..."

Naruto did not answer him, and they just stayed there, on the floor, holding each other and crying. Sasuke will never admit it... but just as the resonating sound of thunder rumbled across the sky, the first few drops of rain fell to the earth along with his tears...

aaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaa

An hour later found the two lounging on the bed, bathing in silence and the aftermaths of Itachi-trauma. (Coined by Sasuke, truly.) Naruto had not stirred from his position curled up in Sasuke's arms.

Sasuke's hand stilled from its soothing movement up and down the blonde's back. He glanced at the clock and noted it was getting late. He looked down at the shock of blonde and nudged him a bit.

"Do you want anything?"

Naruto shifted, shaking his head.

"No... No, I just wanna stay here..."

Sasuke silently reached out by his bedside table and dimmed the lights. He settled back to the bed and arranged the blankets more firmly around them. Naruto sighed and snuggled closer to the dark haired boy.

"Go to sleep... I'll watch you..." Sasuke murmured.

"Don't wanna..."

"It's okay." Sasuke reassured. "Itachi's not gonna get you." _Not if I have anything to say about it..._

"M'not sleepy."

Sasuke sighed as he felt the blonde shaking again.

"I feel dirty." Naruto confessed in a weak voice. "It's disgusting… I want to throw up."

Sasuke saw warning bells and immediately got up. He wrenched the waste can from the bedside table and shoved it to the blonde who was sitting up. If he were a second too late, his sheets would have been ruined. Sasuke thumped the blonde on the back as he retched into the bin, coughing and crying as bile rose up his throat. He had not eaten anything decent last night, nor the night before... There was nothing to let out but his fluids. And it was painful.

Sasuke got up again and padded over to the small fridge in his room, taking out bottled water and twisting the cap open. He handed it over silently to the pale and shaking blonde.

As Naruto slowly drank, Sasuke picked up the bin and marched towards the bathroom. The blonde heard running water and felt shame and misery wash over him. He placed the bottle slowly atop the bedroom table and slumped down the pillows.

Why did it have to turn out this way...? Did his happiness really merit such a high price...?

"Dobe..."

Naruto slowly looked up to Sasuke, who was watching him from the bathroom door.

"Come on..." he softly said. "Let's get you cleaned up."

The water was running into a huge, ivory tub which could have fit two people while still leaving a considerable amount of space. Naruto looked around the spacious bathroom silently and moved to brush his teeth as Sasuke tinkered around for his bottle of shampoo and bath soap.

No words were spoken and the air was permeated only by the sound of hissing water and the tinkering of vials.

"Take off your clothes..." Sasuke gently handed him a large, fluffy towel. "Then get in the tub."

Naruto silently obeyed, slowly taking off his shirt and unbuttoning his pants. Sasuke politely turned away and waited for the blonde to get into the water. Gently, soothingly, the Uchiha picked up the wash cloth and began to wash his back...

Naruto remained silent and the only sounds came from the water sloshing gently in the tub.

Sasuke quietly turned the blonde to face him and began to wash his arm.

"Don't let it get to you, dobe..." Sasuke murmured, as he continued his ministrations. "Itachi's a sicko. Let's leave it at that and forget about it..."

Naruto raised his eyes to him.

"He touched me." He finally whispered.

Sasuke flinched. "Yes... I know..."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me." Sasuke's voice suddenly tightened. "I wanna kill that sonofabitch right now."

Naruto was staring up at him, miserable. "I'm so dirty now, Sasuke. I already was, to begin with. I don't think I deserve you anymore."

Sasuke shut his eyes. "Don't start, dobe..."

"You know what really hurts, Sasuke?" Naruto whispered, grabbing his hand. "It's not the fact that I was nearly raped… It's the fact that I can't offer you myself anymore. I'm dirty... Filthy... Tainted." His shoulders sagged in defeat. "You deserve so much more."

Sasuke took him by the chin and forced the blonde too look at him.

"I don't want anyone else." He stated firmly. "If you really think you don't deserve me, dobe; then do something about it. I won't stand for you to just give up on me like that."

Naruto bowed his head.

"Would you still want me back?"

Sasuke sighed in slight exasperation. "I've never wanted you to go in the first place. You're stuck with me, dobe. Deal with it."

Naruto slowly allowed a smile to blossom on his face. "I'll try."

The Ucihiha rolled his eyes amusedly and continued to wash the blonde's arm. Naruto gazed up at him contentedly, a slight smile on his face. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, leaning in and wiping some suds off his face. Their eyes locked and they stared into each other, their breaths mingling and their faces nearly touching.

"Naruto..."

No one knew who leaned in first, but it never mattered. Their kiss was gentle, almost too much so...

"Come on, dobe..." Sasuke whispered, pulling gently on his arm. "Let's get you all cleaned up."

Naruto merely nodded as the dark haired boy led him back into the bedroom, holding him by the hand. Sasuke had a towel one hand and began to wipe the water off his skin.

Naruto skin tingled at the contact. He watched, riveted, as Sasuke slowly descended on one knee, trailing the soft, fluffy white cloth up his calf... then up his knee... His breath caught. Then it went to his other leg...

Sasuke slowly made his way up, gently patting him dry. Naruto could only watch silently as the dark haired boy finally stood up to face him, and Sasuke could only look back at him.

Naruto did not know what was going on. He knew he should feel embarrassed... Here he was, in all his naked glory- and Sasuke was there to witness him. But he did not... feel embarrassed, at least... Those dark eyes were sincere and honestly open, waiting for him to do something... say anything... But the blonde found that he could never hope to express in words what he was feeling- and so he just fucked it all and did what he had wanted to do ever since he began falling for this gorgeous man...

He kissed him.

And immediately, that was all that mattered. Their lips meshed together in a fiery dance... desperate and gentle at the same time. Was that even possible? And before Naruto could find his answer, they were both on the bed and Sasuke had taken off his shirt.

"Are you sure, dobe?" Sasuke whispered to him, worrying over the blonde's nipple. "I can still stop..."

Naruto shook his head, not trusting his voice.

Sasuke did not waste time then, and Naruto clung onto the boy's back as he ravished him, bringing their lips together once again. Were they moving too fast? It did not matter anymore... They had been holding off for how long... They could not move fast enough... The blonde yanked on the Uchiha's pants, and they came off quickly. Sasuke stilled the blonde who was thrusting against him, as he moved downwards to his center.

Naruto stifled the startled gasp as he felt Sasuke swallow him, and he swore he could practically feel the walls of Sasuke's mouth as it contracted against his head. Immediately as the pleasure came, waves of fear and nausea crashed into his system, and instinctively, he began thrashing about.

Sasuke immediately grabbed onto his hand.

"Calm down, dobe... It's just me..." Sasuke murmured, stroking his hand. "Come on, look at me..."

The blonde's jaw trembled and he opened his eyes, meeting the obsidian gaze staring up at him. Sasuke nodded at him.

"Are you okay?"

Naruto breathed out. "Yes..." he whispered. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Sasuke softly said, touching the blonde's head. "...You're still hard."

Naruto blushed. "Um..."

"You want me... don't you?" Sasuke pinned him with his eyes, and Naruto could feel himself growing even harder.

"M-maybe..."

"Don't lie..." Sasuke breathed, and his hot breath whispered against the blonde's trembling member. "It's painfully obvious."

He licked it.

"Fuck." Naruto swore.

"Keep watching." Sasuke ordered, as he lowered his head. His smile turned devilish. "One more time now... Slowly... I want you to watch, dobe..."

Naruto bit his lip as he was helpless and powerless to watch the Uchiha slowly take him into his mouth... oh that hot and sinful mouth. His breath came out in a hiss as Sasuke moved his tongue, wrapping it around him and dancing… teasing...

"Jesus fucking Christ..." Naruto whispered, and grabbed at the sheets. The fear was no more... not now while he was watching this gorgeous boy doing sinful things to him...

Sasuke had his gaze locked onto him all the while, and there was no warning at all as he suddenly swallowed him whole, the back of his mouth trembling against Naruto's straining member. And the blonde could only yell in surprise. Sasuke was relentless, then. He sucked and he rolled his tongue and Naruto could not even catch his breath as pleasure so mind numbing filled his entire being. And he could feel it... that white, curling snake building at the pit of his stomach. Something was coming... something...

And then it all stopped.

"FUCK!" Naruto gasped, and he opened his eyes. Since when had he closed them? "Why did you stop?!"

Sasuke licked his lips and kissed the blonde, and Naruto's groans was stifled as he tasted something on those lips. His essence. It made him feel hot and disgusted at the same time.

"We're not through yet, dobe..." Sasuke whispered, and Naruto did not mind how his voice had become a little scratchy... not in the least. "I want to take you..."

Naruto shuddered at his tone and he nodded fervently.

"Take me, then..." he whispered back.

"This is going to hurt a bit..." Sasuke informed him, reaching towards the bedside table and rummaging through a drawer. "But I'll try to be gentle..."

Naruto nodded. He knew Sasuke would never intentionally hurt him. The Uchiha finally fished out a tube of lube and squeezed a healthy amount onto his palm.

"I'll have to prepare you first..." Sasuke grunted. "Relax, dobe..."

Naruto took a deep breath and tried to lose all the tension in his muscles. He couldn't help but flinch, however, when he felt a finger slipping inside him.

"Easy, now..." Sasuke shushed. "Tell me if it hurts."

Naruto swallowed, shaking his head. "It doesn't hurt..."

It didn't... not really. It was just the uncomfortable feeling of having something alien inside your ass. Naruto began to relax again, as Sasuke began stretching him and added another finger. Naruto winced and Sasuke kissed him to distract him from the slight pain that was due to his third finger.

"Sasuke..." Naruto wriggled against the fingers scissoring him. The pain had dulled now into a throb and he could feel something akin to frustration building inside him. Sasuke immediately retracted his fingers and positioned himself behind him.

"Do it, Sasuke..." Naruto whispered, pushing against him slightly.

"I love you." Sasuke whispered back, and he plunged inside. Naruto's pained gasp was stifled by Sasuke's mouth on his own. It was painful... Oh god, it hurt like hell... Sasuke's cock was bigger than his fingers could ever hope to be, and it filled him...

"It hurts..." Naruto cried, biting his lip. "It hurts, Sasuke..."

Sasuke reached over and brushed the blond locks out of his eyes.

"Ssh, dobe... I want you to relax... the pain will go away faster… relax..."

And Naruto could only swallow his sob and nod, trying to relax his muscles. He wanted to, very much, but his fear had returned somewhat, and it was brushing through his consciousness. Naruto was afraid it would spill over and overwhelm him- he couldn't let it happen. Not now... not when Sasuke...

"Relax, dobe... You're not relaxing..."

"I'm trying!" Naruto cried. "I'm scared, Sasuke..."

The Uchiha realized what was happening and he leaned down to kiss the blonde gently on the lips.

"Look at me, dobe... Come on, look at me."

Naruto did.

"It's just me..." Sasuke repeated. "Sasuke... I won't hurt you, you know that..."

"Sasuke..." Naruto whispered, and he was trembling again. "Sasuke..."

Sasuke kissed him again, and the blonde kissed back. And for a few moments, they were locked in a gentle kiss- slow and unhurried and full of unspoken truth and love... Gradually, Naruto began to relax, and the stirring in his gut had awakened. When they finally parted for air, the blonde was breathing heavily, and his cheeks were blushing red. Sasuke smiled down at him.

"Feel better?"

Naruto waited for the pain to register in him, and he was surprised that it had gone.

"The pain's gone..." he murmured, a little bewildered.

But Sasuke was still inside him... he could feel him... still whole, still hard, and so... Naruto's breath caught in his throat as the realization struck him. Sasuke was inside him... Almost immediately, he felt himself harden as blood rushed back to him in waves. The blonde moved his hips a bit, and Sasuke took this as his cue to start moving forward. His first thrust was slow, calculating... Naruto's mouth opened in a small 'o' as he felt every muscle, every sharp contour of Sasuke as he slid in and out of him... oh god...

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke groaned in response. "God, you're so tight..." he gasped.

"Is that a bad thing?" Naruto moaned, slightly worried. Subconsciously, he tried to flex his muscles to loosen them. It resulted in Sasuke groaning louder.

"No, you idiot. It's not a bad thing." Sasuke gritted out. "Shit, I don't think I can hold back much longer..."

"Don't hold back." Naruto replied immediately.

Sasuke shifted his position and grabbed the blonde's legs, which had curled itself around Sasuke's waist.

"Don't say I didn't warn you..." Sasuke whispered, and then he lost it.

Naruto yelled as Sasuke drove deep into him, shocking him as he suddenly felt filled entirely, to the brim. In a split second, he decided that this was the most wonderful feeling in the world, and he had dedicated in his mind to remember the exact feeling... this completeness...

"Aw, shit..." Naruto gasped, as he thrust back to him, joining him in a steady rhythm as the Uchiha began to drive into him earnestly.

The friction was incredible... Naruto could not control the shortened gasps that escaped him anymore... He did not know what to say... what to do... All he wanted for that moment was for Sasuke to never stop… move faster... and faster...

He did not know when it came, but his tears were falling down his cheeks, and he opened his mouth in a long moan. It was building... deep inside him... rising up and rearing its head...

"Sasuke… Sasuke..." Naruto moaned, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I love you..."

"About time, dobe..." Sasuke gasped, jerking his hips to thrust deeper and harder into the blonde. "Because I'm NEVER gonna let you go... Not now... not EVER."

"Sasuke..." Naruto's breath hitched as the raven head sped up, slamming into him in almost delicious desperation. "Oh god... God..."

Sasuke barely felt the nails digging deep into his back; too focused he was on bringing his blonde to his completion. He was riveted at the expression so openly present in Naruto's face, he could not look away... Naruto's face was scrunched up, every line screaming of the desire and love he had for the other. His mouth was slightly open in a silent scream, and it took all of Sasuke's willpower not to capture those tempting lips into a fiery kiss.

"Open your eyes, dobe..." Sasuke whispered.

Naruto mewled, and Sasuke knew the blonde was almost there. He himself would not last long...

"Sa-sasuke... I can't... I'm gonna..."

"Open your eyes." Sasuke repeated huskily, reaching down and grabbing Naruto's weeping member. "I want to see you come..."

Naruto moaned, not believing how erotic those words could be, coming out of Sasuke's mouth. And if possible, it made him even more aroused. He struggled against his heavy lidded eyes, opening them and gazing into Sasuke's passion filled ones.

"Naruto..."

The blonde made a sound deep in his throat as he felt the stirring in his abdomen uncurl and grow into a monstrous thrashing- writhing, desperate to be let out. He pushed his hips against Sasuke's pistoning ones.

"Sas- ah, Sasuke..." Naruto cried in a desperate tone. "Shit- I'm gonna-"

"Not yet..." Sasuke murmured, his voice strangely tight.

Naruto felt like crying. "Please, Sasuke! I can't hold it anymore..."

Sasuke sped up his pace, desperation laced in every thrust. He let go of Naruto and started pumping the weeping member in time with his thrusts.

"Naruto..." he growled, feeling it build up inside of him. "Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

The world went blindingly white as the two touched heaven's door... And time was suspended into a halt wherein they saw nothing but each other...

Naruto slumped back tiredly onto the bed, not even protesting as Sasuke practically crushed him as they lay on top of each other. Mind numbing pleasure... Naruto tried to remember how to breathe, as he tried to grasp what was left of his coherence- and for a split second, he was afraid that he couldn't remember who he was. He opened his eyes, and immediately as the fear came, it vanished. Sasuke was there, smiling down at him, his eyes soft and alive with an emotion that stole what little breath Naruto had managed to take. He wrapped his arms around the Uchiha and sighed contentedly. This... this was bliss. Because he would be reassured that after falling from heaven's gate and crashing down to earth... Sasuke would be there to remind him of who he was and what he had come down for.

"Wow..." Naruto croaked, allowing the raven to wriggle out of his grasp enough to settle beside him. Almost immediately though, the blonde latched back to him, snuggling into the warm embrace.

Sasuke smirked. "Why, thank you."

Naruto didn't even bother to slap him. "Give it a rest, Uchiha. You're the first... I can't possibly compare you with anyone else."

Sasuke's smirk turned into a slight frown. "Make sure it stays that way."

Naruto snorted. Sasuke growled, grabbing the blonde and looking deep into slightly startled blue eyes.

"I mean it, dobe." Sasuke seriously said. "If anyone so much as TOUCHES you, I won't be responsible for my actions." He trailed worshipping fingers down the blonde's chest, lovingly tracing the bites and marks that he had put there not so long ago. "You're mine, Naruto... I won't give you to anyone else."

Naruto wasn't sure how to react, but he blissfully ignored the speeding of his heart. "I'm not something to be OWNED, Sasuke..."

"No..." Sasuke agreed. "You belonged to me right from the start... And I won't let you go, dobe."

Naruto melted. Gah! Sasuke really knew how to throw him off guard... Just when he thought he had the bastard all figured out- he pulls off a stunt like that. Cheesy, self absorbed prick!

"If that's the case, then you're mine too." Naruto reluctantly said.

Sasuke cocked a brow.

"But it's just right." Naruto argued. "Give and take."

"Uchiha's aren't owned, dobe." Sasuke loftily said, hiding a smile at the blonde's indignant face.

"That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard." Naruto swore.

"Well then... You'll just have to come get me, won't you?" Sasuke smirked down at him. He licked the shell of Naruto's ear. "Make me yours, Naruto..." he murmured.

"Pervert!" Naruto cried, pushing the boy away. He hated how hot his face had become- when would he stop blushing like some love sick school girl?!!

Sasuke stifled a laugh. (Something he had not done in a while.)

"And you love me for it."

The most horrible thing about it? Naruto groaned to himself, was that Sasuke was actually right. DAMN!

They fell into a comfortable silence then, Naruto curled up in Sasuke's arms who was absently tracing light patterns onto Naruto's arm... Sasuke was silently pleased that the blonde had considerably cheered up, and felt something akin to pride for himself. They lay quietly under the thin cotton sheets, listening to the sound of the rain beating down Sasuke's window. The gentle rumble of thunder echoed across the sky and the world hushed into a silence to honor the miracle. The two figures on the bed did not stir, ridiculously content, watching the world pass by as they lay in each others arms. The clock on the bedside table serenely read: 8:35 AM.

"Naruto..."

"Hm?" Naruto jerked awake from his lull into a semi-sleep, blinking blearily up at Sasuke.

"Move in with me."

It actually took a few seconds for Naruto's brain to process that.

"WHAT?!"

Sasuke looked serious- which did not bode well for Naruto.

"Usuratonkachi. You really have to stop making me repeat every damn thing I say." Sasuke irritably said.

Naruto did not even retort, too busy he was gaping at the Uchiha. "You want me to WHAT?!"

"Move in with me." Sasuke sighed, wiping off the drool that had trickled down the blonde's mouth in the midst of dozing off. "You can have the extra room down the hall, or better yet, you can stay here."

He thoughtfully closed Naruto's mouth.

"I don't like the idea of you living under those bastards house." Sasuke continued, as if to explain. "I can't stand the thought of what they might do to you next."

Naruto was looking at him incredulously as if the boy had grown an extra head. "Are you crazy, or something? Don't make jokes like that! It isn't funny!"

"I don't joke." Sasuke irritably reminded him.

"Well I'm still not laughing." Naruto sat up to address him properly. "You know I can't live with you, Sasuke. Don't even suggest something like that."

"Why not?" the other boy had on what was suspiciously like a pout. "I don't see any problems."

Naruto tutted. "If you haven't realized, Sasuke, I'm bound to the Haruno's by legal rights till I turn eighteen. I'm not going anywhere till I hit that age, and you know it."

"So?" Sasuke scowled. "It's not as if they want you there, do they?"

"No." Naruto frowned. "But I have a debt to pay."

"You ARE going to pay the debt." Sasuke reminded him. "That's why you're working in that ramen place, aren't you?" _With Gaara_, was left hanging in midair.

"It's not that simple, Sasuke-"

"Why not?" Sasuke frowned. "Why stay there when you're clearly not wanted? Why not stay here where you ARE wanted?" _By me... _

"Sasuke, I won't take charity-"

"Charity?" Sasuke repeated dumbly. "What charity?"

"That's what it is, isn't it?" Naruto looked at him questioningly. "You're offering me a place to stay for free, since I clearly don't have enough money as it is. Sorry Sasuke, but I don't do that kind of stuff."

Sasuke stared at him.

"You really are a dobe." He finally sighed, crossing his arms. "You idiot. I'm not offering you a 'place to stay for free'. I'm offering you a place to stay WITH ME."

Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke smirked at him.

"I want you to live with me as lovers."

Oh... If the world weren't so large, it would probably crumble and die right now. Naruto never felt so flustered or torn in his entire life. Sasuke... that BASTARD!

"Dobe!" Sasuke blinked at him incredulously. "Why are you crying?!"

"I'm not!" Naruto griped through his tears, burying his head onto Sasuke's shoulder. "You're just being a Bastard, as always!"

Sasuke was honestly bewildered and a tad bit disturbed. "Usuratonkachi, what the hell is the matter with you?"

"You- you..." Naruto beat his fist weakly on Sasuke. "Every time I think I've fallen hard enough for you, you make me fall deeper into you it hurts."

The blonde dared a glance at the now silent Uchiha. "I think I'm falling in love with you all over again."

Sasuke gazed at the blonde.

"You love me?"

Naruto blushed, ducking his head. "D-don't be such an egoist! That's what I said."

Sasuke grabbed his hand, making the blonde look at him.

"So does that mean we can be lovers?"

Naruto's blush darkened and he gaped at him. Sasuke did not look like he was joking though...

"Are... are you serious?"

"...You don't want to?"

"NO! I mean- YES, I want to, but..." Naruto slapped himself at the almost rejected look in Sasuke's eyes.

He grabbed the Uchiha's face and made him look into his eyes.

"Look, Sasuke. I told you that I loved you, and I don't go spouting that off to anyone else, you hear me? So if you really want it to be that way, I'm game with that."

Sasuke was quiet.

"So... You'll go out with me."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "YES, goddamit. YES."

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Sasuke shut the door, gazing contemplatingly at the shiny, varnish texture of the mahogany door. He relished the calm, sedated feeling that was coursing through him and closed his eyes. Damn... the blonde was gone for only two minutes and he was missing him already. When had he become this weak??

Then, after realizing what an idiot he must have looked like, smiling stupidly into space, he shook his head and headed for the kitchen, with the sole intent of getting something to eat. Arguably, Naruto would be a flavor that the Uchiha would be craving more from now on- but for now, he'd have to make do with what meager enjoyments the humble kitchen had to offer him. But before that...

"Someone's gotta pay first..." Sasuke darkly muttered, stalking across the hall.

Upon entering the pantry, he spotted Itachi who was reading the morning newspaper (upside down, Sasuke noted with a roll of his eyes) and sipping a cup of what suspiciously looked like good, strong, black coffee. Uh-oh. Sasuke frowned distastefully, warily eyeing the innocently steaming cup. Itachi and caffeine... definitely not good news. He was a psychotic enough insomniac as it was... No need to add fuel to the fire (Pun not intended). Sasuke glowered and marched towards the older Uciha, with the full intent to punch the living daylights out of him. Itachi on the other hand, upon spotting Sasuke, immediately put down his mug and burst into a flurry of applause.

"Well done, Sasuke." He solemnly said, his earnest clapping not really matching the expression of his tone. "I applaud you. Well done."

Sasuke stared at him, and slowly cocked a suspicious eyebrow.

"Don't tell me..." Sasuke leant onto the counter, crossing his arms. "You've finally lost it."

"No." Itachi calmly shuffled his newspaper into a neat pile, nailing the younger Uchiha with an eye. "YOU finally got laid, little brother."

Sasuke slipped from the clean counter and sputtered in indignation.

"Oh, you don't have to be so embarrassed about it." Itachi assured him flippantly, flicking a nonexistent mothball from his shirt. "After all, you two made such delightful sounds. I'm sure the next few neighboring villages well appreciated it."

Sasuke flushed scarlet, and neither party was sure if it was from rage or embarrassment. Itachi picked both.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet, you asshole." Sasuke seethed. "You've got some serious ass to pay off-"

"You're a very lucky individual, Sasuke." Itachi continued, as he went back to stirring his coffee, blissfully ignoring the fuming boy across him. "Naruto is one VERY nice catch. Very nice. Care to share?"

SLAM.

Itachi watched bemusedly as Sasuke stormed out of the kitchen, food and all else forgotten in favor of stomping up the staircase and slamming the door with a ferocious BANG! He flicked his soggy hair out of his eyes and sighed, glancing demurely at his upturned cup of caffeine...

"That boy should be diagnosed with a short temper syndrome..." He murmured. "What a waste of perfectly good coffee."

He picked up his mug and carried it over to the sink, blissfully ignoring the now destroyed kitchen table lying on the floor.

"Ah well... Time to get a new mug…"


	24. Truth

AN:

To my darling readers of TWTS:

I have found this week full of interesting things and new discoveries! I don't think this is really the time and place to discuss these things but I am so very excited to share! XD Today, I crept out of my concrete tower to watch the world wake up. The world as it's always been from up here had always seemed so beautiful and fragile. So down I went... And what I saw had shocked me! XD It never seemed so ugly as this in the movies... sigh.

Ahem, but anyway. This is like, the opening of a brand new chapter for me- this is where Sasuke and Naruto's relationship REALLY hit off now, and I'm kinda nervous about how the journey in between is gonna be like. But, of course, like everything else, it's not all daisies and sunshine, eh? Poor blondie- I've got a lot in store for him and I'm not telling. Tee hee.

Be a dear and drop me a note- you know it means the world to all authors. XD Spread the love!!

Cheers,

cookie

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**Truth**

I never knew

That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue

To turn and run

When all I needed was the truth

-The Frey

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The first thing Naruto did when he reached the Haruno household, was to make sure no one saw he had returned. Ironically, this wasn't very hard to do... No one really cared to notice when he was there or not anyway... (Except when he was skipping kitchen duties) He readjusted his bag on his shoulder and slipped inside the house.

"Safe." Naruto whispered, as he quietly re-locked the back door in which he had crept in. "And just in time to help for breakfast." Not that he would be getting any. At least, nothing that was going to be served on the breakfast table anyway. He'd probably get leftovers at best.

He crept down the hall and was about to climb the stairs when he was stopped in his tracks by... the cat.

"You!" Naruto hissed, glaring at the brown ball of fluff. "Keep quiet, you skunk, or I swear I will feed you to Kiba's dog!"

The cat glared back at him and stretched one paw as if threatening him. Naruto saw it glance at the vase resting atop the table and knew immediately what it was planning.

"Oh no, you evil cat." Naruto gritted out, lunging after the creature. "Over my dead body!"

The cat gave a loud 'meow' and knocked onto the table, upsetting the vase. Naruto gasped in horror and lunged once again after the falling vase, ever fiber in his being screaming for God to stop time somehow.

"Gotcha!"

Naruto sighed in utter relief as he felt the cold ceramic in his hands. He turned to glare at the cat that had chose to skunk off, tail raised high into the air.

"I swear... I have got to introduce Akamaru to it somehow." Naruto muttered darkly. "Or better yet, I'll have him take a look at Gaara. Yeah, now that would be cool."

"How dare you say things like that?!"

Naruto jumped and immediately stiffened to attention.

"Yes, Ma'am! I'm sorry ma'am!" Naruto yelled immediately in response. He shut his eyes for the coming reprimand, but blinked confusedly when the lady Haruno's voice carried on...

"Your father has very important things to do! He is in a delicate situation right now!"

Naruto's brows furrowed in confusion and he glanced towards the slightly ajar door. Slightly bewildered and curious, he padded over to the door and peered inside. At first, he only saw a blob of pink... something, but then that something connected to a neck, then to an angry face. He spied the Lady Haruno's ugly expression and was surprised that this was directed to none other than Sakura herself.

"He's ALWAYS in a delicate situation!" Sakura yelled back. "I'm getting sick of it, honestly!"

"He has responsibilities." The older woman coldly replied.

"How about his responsibilities to his family?" Sakura argued. "What about ME?! I need to talk to him about something important! How can he be not here when I need him?!"

"Your father is a very busy man, Sakura. You can't always expect him to be home when it is convenient for you." The woman sniffed. "And what is it this time? Whose unfortunate life are you set to ruin this time?"

"It is none of your concern, mother." Sakura replied, just as haughtily. "So when exactly is he coming back, anyway?"

"I told you, I do not know." The woman replied irritably. "He has not bothered to call, if you should know."

Sakura harrumphed. "Did he say ANYTHING at all?"

Naruto swore he could practically see the lady Haruno rolling her eyes.

"He merely said it would be a while before his return. There was a problem that needed to be attended to immediately. That is all."

Naruto jumped and quickly slid out of the way as he spied Sakura stomping towards the door.

"Well, it'd better be good, whatever problem this is. DO tell me when he calls, Mother."

"Certainly."

Naruto absently gagged at their pedigreed way of speaking. Certainly, MOTHER. DO tell, mother. Gah. They never spoke that way in their entire damn lives and it was disgusting to hear them start now. He flattened himself more firmly to the wall as the door opened and Sakura marched out. Holding his breath, he did not dare move until the pink haired girl was safely in her room with a loud bang of the door.

He let out his breath with a sigh. Standing there, in the now silent hallway, he could hear his heart thundering in his chest. His world was spinning as the news he had heard a while back ran through his mind... again and again...

He wasn't coming back...

That beastly man wasn't coming back...

At least, for the moment.

He let the jubilant smile spread on his face and stifled his cry of delight. Running up the stairs as fast as he could, he could barely concentrate on keeping his steps coordinated (since his feet insisted on dancing a jig) as he scurried up towards his room in the attic. He forgot to be quiet at all as he slammed he door to his humble room. He dumped his bag in his bed and jumped about, hugging himself in delight.

"I'm still safe... I'm still okay!" Naruto whispered, and he cupped his face in his hands. "I can still do this!"

He laughed out loud and started dancing about.

"I'm so happy!" He cried, and he felt the sudden twinge in his backside. Blushing, his grin widened. It was a happy pain. It was a Sasuke pain... He sighed as he thought of the dark haired boy. "Sasuke..."

Struck by inspiration, he quickly flew out of his room and down the hallway of the third floor, picking up the receiver and punching in a number. The smile in his face hurt as he waited for the line to pick up.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing………. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing...

"Come on, pick up..." Naruto whined.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiiii-

"What."

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried happily, ignoring the grouchy tone. "Sasuke, guess what?"

"...You got home safely?" Sasuke sarcastically guessed.

"Well, duh, yes." Naruto refused to let him dampen his mood. "But guess what ELSE?"

"..." Sasuke was silent and Naruto could hear him shuffling in his bed. "…Your ass still hurt?"

Naruto blushed. "Yeah, well, you were pretty rough..."

The blonde could hear the smirk on the boy. "You asked for it."

"Anyway," Naruto hurriedly cut in, trying to sound cool and casual. "I think Christmas just came early for me. Sakura's dad got held up in some business thing and he won't be coming back for a while!"

Sasuke straightened in attention.

"Where did you hear that from?" he demanded.

"I overheard Sakura and her mother arguing just a while back…" Naruto explained, grinning. "They never knew I was there... Oh Sasuke, I'm so happy!"

Sasuke made a 'hm'ing sound in his throat.

"You better make the most of it, dobe. But whatever- the plan still holds, you got that?"

Naruto paused and strained to remember the 'plan'.

"Er... The one where I go running to you first thing, or the... um, one where I have to..." he paused confusedly. "Wait, what was the plan again?"

Sasuke sighed, and the roll of his eyes (amazingly) carried over to the other line.

"The plan is that you get your ASS down here as soon as you spy that asshole had come back."

Naruto waited for him to continue, but he did not.

"...And then?" the blonde pressed. "What happens after that again?"

"Then nothing." Sasuke replied. "We'll get to that."

It was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes and he finally remembered their conversation regarding the 'plan'. He remembered that he rolled his eyes at that time too.

"Yeah. Sure."

Sasuke harrumphed and there was more shuffling of the sheets.

"Don't forget Sunday." The Uchiha reminded him. "Ten. I'll pick you up."

Naruto smiled.

"Yeah, I didn't forget." The blonde paused, as if thinking. "Where are we gonna go, anyway?"

"We'll see."

"What do you mean, 'We'll see'?" Naruto demanded. "You mean you haven't planned anything yet?"

"No."

The blonde was indignant. "What kind of a date is that?"

"A date."

"What kind of a person asks another person out on a date and has no plans whatsoever?"

Sasuke sighed.

"Look, dobe... I haven't dated anyone in my life, ever, so I really don't know where I'm supposed to bring you. Heck, even if you say you'd go wherever I'd want to go, thing is I don't particularly like going ANYwhere."

"Then why did you bother asking me out if you didn't like going places?" the blonde scowled.

"Cuz you'd be there." The Uchiha simply shrugged. "You can choose where we go, dobe. I don't really care."

Naruto blinked.

"...Um..."

"Do you have a place in mind?"

"Er…no..." Naruto wanted to say that he had never dated in his entire life before too.

"Then we'll see." Sasuke sleepily muttered.

"Okay..." The blonde heard him yawn. "What were you doing before I called, anyway?"

"I was in my bed, jerking off."

Naruto blanched. "Sasuke!"

"I was kidding." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Duh, what do you think I was doing?"

"Sleeping!"

"There's your answer." Sasuke stifled yet another yawn. "And since we're done talking, I suppose I can go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah, sure." Naruto huffed.

"Right then. I'm hanging up."

"You do that."

"Don't forget."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I won't."

"I'm sure."

"Yeah, right."

Sasuke did not reply, and the blonde waited a few seconds for the Uchiha to make his move. The silence stretched on.

"Hang up, already!" Naruto finally cried.

"I'm hanging... I'm hanging…"

...Silence.

"SASUKE!"

"What?"

"You're an asshole." The blonde muttered darkly.

"Yeah, I love you too."

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"I hate cotton candy."

Naruto giggled as the dark haired boy tossed away his ball of blue fluff in disgust. He himself, was chomping on his own stick of pink sweetness.

"Why did you buy it then?"

"You wanted it, not me." Sasuke reminded him irritably. "How can you stand to eat all that artificial sugar anyway?"

"It's good." Naruto insisted. "You never even gave yours a try. Here, have some of mine." He offered his stick of candy.

"No thanks." Sasuke declined.

"Aw, come on..." Naruto pouted. "Just a taste? You wouldn't know if you hated it till you tried it."

"It's the smell." Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "It's too... sugary. Sweet. Disgusting."

"Not even when it's me?" Naruto teased, tearing off a piece of candy with his mouth. He offered it to the Uchiha.

Sasuke stared at the blonde and looked at the piece of pink fluff hanging from his lips. He was surprised at his boldness... it probably had something to do with the candy.

Naruto blinked up at him, still smiling. Sasuke sighed and tried to hide his own smile. He bent down and took the offered candy, licking the blonde's lips of the sweetness. Naruto immediately latched onto his lips and they shared a kiss and then some... They pulled away with a light smack, and Naruto grinned up at him.

"There... how d'you like it now?"

Sasuke smirked at him. "I stand my ground."

Naruto's grin disappeared and he pouted. "Che. Bastard."

Sasuke turned his eyes away from the blonde, still smirking, and he surveyed the chaotic scene before with him a wary eye. It was no question where they were... and Sasuke never believed, not one second in his life, that he would end up here today, in this lifetime, with his blonde lover hanging off his arm.

"This place looks like a nightmare." The Uchiha murmured to himself.

And he was not joking.

There were large, looming clown faces with gaping mouths that was supposed to be the entrance for some mirror thingamajig, and some weirdly decorated caravan with metal bars on the windows. Leering jugglers and honestly scary looking ringmasters skulked around with nasty glares, and the people around them happily ignored the grotesqueness of the place and got lost in their own bliss. For this was a place where happiness ran wild and reality thrown as a fluke of nature. This place where kids flourished and balloons and sticky candy threatened to bury you alive...

Sasuke hated amusement parks.

"Must you really choose this place?" The Uchiha muttered.

"Oh, come on Sasuke!" Naruto grinned, obviously hyped up. "You said I could choose wherever I wanted to go, and I wanted here! And besides, everybody loves amusement parks!"

"Apparently, I am not part of this everybody."

Naruto ignored him and pointed excitedly at a clown twisting balloons into funny shapes.

"Look! I've always wanted to do that! Come on, Sasuke, let's go see."

The Uchiha reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled along, as the blonde hurried up the crowd gathered around the rather funny looking clown. It was currently bent over a purple balloon, twisting it and shaping it with skilled hands, flying over the rubbery surface with practiced ease. A second later, it had turned into a rabbit.

"Wow!" Naruto clapped his hands in delight. "Did you see that? It was like- balloon, then poof! Rabbit!"

"You don't say." Sasuke mumbled.

The clown turned and smiled at the blonde, who promptly grinned back at him. The clown bowed his small little bow and flourished his hand toward the blonde. Suddenly, there were five colorful balloons sticking out of his hand where there none a moment ago! Naruto's eyes widened.

"How did'ya do that?!"

The clown shook his head and smiled at him. Apparently, it did not speak. He brandished to the balloons and held up one finger.

"You want me to choose?" Naruto excitedly pointed at himself. "Just one?"

The clown nodded. The crowd looked on interestingly, and a little boy wanted his momma.

Naruto, inevitably, chose the orange balloon. The clown picked out the orange one and twirled his hand around. Almost immediately as it had appeared, the balloons were gone.

"Cool!" Naruto squealed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

The clown twisted the remaining orange balloon and began to work on it, twisting and knotting and bending... Naruto watched in delight as a form began to take shape and soon enough, the clown was holding out to him, an orange animal-shaped balloon.

"It's Kyuubi!" Naruto laughed, accepting the balloon. "Look, Sasuke! It's a fox!"

Sasuke nodded.

"Thanks, mister clown!" Naruto grinned at him.

The clown took off his cap and bowed to him, till its red, button nose was touching the ground. The crowd laughed in delight and began to clamor for more...

"Look, I can wear it like a hat!" Naruto cried, jamming it onto his head where it clashed with his blonde locks. "Isn't it cute?"

Sasuke chose not to reply, and politely smiled.

"Ooh, look! It's the hall of mirrors!" Naruto began to drag him away again and Sasuke could only stumble after. "Oh! And look- a haunted house! They're never really scary in the country, but I guess since this is the city, they'd be better- OOH!" Naruto clapped his hands in delight and Sasuke had to stop abruptly to avoid running into the blonde. "It's the wheel of doom! That's like, my absoluteliest favorite! Sasuke, say you'd go with me, please say you'd go?!"

"I don't like rides like those..." Sasuke looked distrustfully up the rapidly spinning 'Wheel' where dozens of children were screaming their heads off.

"Aw, come on, Sasuke! It's fun! They go slow at first, then accelerate faster and faster till you can't distinguish your feet from your head anymore!" Naruto grinned.

"Whee."

"Let's go then!"

Sasuke wanted to protest, but before he could even open his mouth, the blonde had successfully managed to drag him into the line. He glared at him.

"Naruto, I do NOT want to ride this with you."

"Aw, come on, Sasuke... please???"

"No."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease??" Naruto batted his eyelashes for effect. "I promise you can pick the next ride! You can choose whatever you want!"

"I do not like rides." Sasuke reminded him irritably.

"But you'd like this one." Naruto insisted. "I promise!"

"No." Sasuke stubbornly crossed his arms.

"Oh, come on!"

"No."

"For me?"

"No."

"Sasuke!"

"You can beg all day, dobe. But I'm still saying NO."

Five minutes later, Sasuke was cursing himself into the next millennium, strapped into the rickety, suspicious looking wheel, beside a giddy blonde.

"I swear to God, Naruto." Sasuke gritted out, his knuckles pale from gripping the pads across his chest. "If we die on this god forsaken place, I will personally make sure to fight my way back to the living and kill you."

"Don't be such a chicken." Naruto cheerfully replied. "This ride's harmless. You'll just be spinned around like a rubber chicken on a noose- how bad can it be?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Do tell."

A loud beeping noise resounded inside the wheel and people began to twitter in excitement. The speaker above the control booth crackled to life, and a droning voice began to address them...

"Please be reminded to remove any sharp objects from your body, and that you are firmly strapped onto the sides."

Sasuke glared menacingly at the bored looking attendant, leaning oh so casually by the door. The man's seemingly laid back behavior was not reassuring in the least.

"Keep your elbows tucked in and hold on to your lunch." The man droned. "Have a nice ride."

"I'm sure." Sasuke muttered.

And then, they began to move...

"We're moving, we're moving!" The blonde beside him squealed. Sasuke could not surmise if the blonde's trembling was due to his excitement or something else.

And move they did... Slowly at first, at a leisurely spin that was slightly pleasant... Like rocking gently on a hammock... Sasuke allowed himself to relax, forcing himself to calm down... It was not like he was scared of some dumb ride, anyway... He just did not appreciate being tossed and turned like some 'rubber chicken on a noose', that's all.

"Here we go." Naruto suddenly spoke up, and Sasuke could feel the dread kicking back in as the pace accelerated up a notch... then another... then another... and another still, till they were spinning dizzyingly around and around. At this point, people started screaming.

"Whoohoooo!!" The blonde was yelling beside him.

Sasuke told him to shut up. He doubts the blonde heard him.

Impossibly, the wheel started to go faster still, and Sasuke began to get apprehensions. Was it really safe to be carrying on at this velocity? He was itching to yell at the conductor to frickin' STOP the fucking ride, but his pride (and the overtly lack of breath) prevented him from doing so.

And he had no choice but to stand quietly and wait for the ride to slow down on its own accord, trying his hardest to ignore the screams that threatened to render him deaf and the spinning of his head. Naruto... you will pay for this. Dearly.

Sasuke shut his eyes as the blurry colors began to hurt his head, and concentrated on the feel of his shoes planted firmly on the wooden floor. He felt his gravity shift several times, and he realized with a sense of foreboding that not only was the ride spinning him upside down and right side up, it was goddamn tilting to the right- or the left, who the fuck knew anymore? Sasuke grit his teeth and his hand itched to wrap itself around a certain blonde's neck.

And yes, FINALLY, after what seemed like eternity, the ride began to slow down.

"Rubber chicken on a noose..." Sasuke muttered to himself, as the ride continued to decelerate at an acceptable pace. "More like stick pins in a dry spinner. Bah."

He refused to open his eyes till the ride came to a complete stop, where he let out a frustrated sigh. He allowed himself a few seconds to regain his sense of balance and calm his guts, it was only after then did he chance a look on the blonde.

It was some sort of satisfaction to see the blonde looking a bit pale for comfort, but Sasuke did not dare open his mouth yet either.

"That was fun." Naruto finally piped up, and Sasuke wanted to punch him.

"Come on, let's go." The Uchiha grumbled, pushing off the safety belts around him. "Or by God I will drag you out."

"I'm coming." The blonde giggled. "God, Sasuke, you're a mess."

And his fist twitched beside him- he REALLY wanted to punch him now.

"You are so going to pay for this, Naruto." Sasuke grumbled, marching towards the exit where a bunch of people were heading. Some of them looked too green, and Sasuke made it a point to stay clear away unless someone might go bleh.

Being safely out of the horrid ride, Sasuke finally began to breathe properly, and the blonde cheerfully skipped at his side.

"Okay, where do you want to go next?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Preferably somewhere with both our feet on the ground."

Naruto pouted. "You're no fun."

"Deal with it."

"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto began to scan the amusement park for a potential target.

Sasuke may talk big, and he may not be the most agreeable person in the planet, but a few minutes later will find him strapped into a water log ride, cursing the blonde as they dropped into a steep dive towards the murky waters below... And later on, they would experience both feet off the ground once more, as they mounted the crazy roller coaster (twice). Sasuke may hate the blonde for making him do it, but they'd be found riding on the gypsy horses on the two storey carousel at the very heart of the park.

"Man, I'm pooped!" Naruto laughed, dropping onto a park bench. "Come sit, Sasuke!"

Sasuke wordlessly sat himself on the bench beside him and let out a small sigh. In the middle of everything, he had gotten tired of arguing with the blonde about the rides. Somehow, in one way or another, he would eventually lose and give in anyway.

"What do you want to do next?" Sasuke finally regarded the blonde.

Naruto grinned at him.

"I don't know... Let's rest first."

Despite himself, the Uchiha gave in to a small smile. Regardless of his annoyance in being coerced into rides he did not want to have any part in- it still gave him some sort of satisfaction to see the blonde smile. Corny as hell, but, what the heck- they were in a place where people wore creepy make up and rubber noses. And guess what- the monkey wore clothes. Whee.

Naruto sat up in attention.

The booth beside them suddenly erupted into a cumulous applause, and they both turned around to see what the commotion was about. A humble crowd had gathered round in a shooting booth, where a couple was currently trying their luck. The freckled boy (who looked about their age) awkwardly handled his gun and seemed to be attempting to shoot his sweetheart a small teddy bear.

"Go, Ted." The girl cried. "Just a little bit more!"

Sasuke wanted to snort. Ted?

Curious, Naruto got up and wandered over to the booth and Sasuke indulgently followed behind him. They watched as the brown haired, freckled boy shoot again with his gun- and missed.

"Aww..." the crowd moaned in disappointment.

"One last!" the boy (Ted) cried, slapping down a half dollar. "Don't worry, Lisa, I'll get that bear for you!"

The attendant heartily refilled his gun and handed it over, grinning.

"Yer better get it this time, lad, or ye'd be runnnin' outta luck."

The crowed cheered along.

Ted squared his shoulders and carefully aimed. The people hushed into a silence and watched expectantly as they waited for him to shoot.

BANG! Went the gun...

"Shoot!" Ted cursed.

The bulled grazed the small, stuffed bear on the ear, making it wobble only the tiniest bit.

"Ooh, almost got it!" someone moaned in disappointment.

"Are you kiddin'? That wasn't even close enough!"

"He'll get it this time."

"Go get 'em, son!"

"QUIET!"

There was another hush as Ted aimed once again...

BANG!

"Oh man..."

"Now THAT wasn't even close."

"Shut up, Mike."

"What? It was!"

"Let's see you do better!"

"Shh! It's his last one!"

Naruto leaned over expectantly as he trained his blue, blue eyes on Ted. Everyone watched with bated breath as the boy gave one last aim and fired.

BANG!

"AWWW!!"

"Damn, that's too bad!!"

Naruto clapped his hands in disappointment. "And he actually hit it, too!"

"It probably didn't have enough force to topple it over." Someone commented.

"Well, duh."

"I'm just sayin..."

"That's all right, kid! You shot well."

"I'm sorry, Lisa." Ted apologized to the girl, who looked slightly sad.

"It's alright, Ted." She patted him on the shoulder. "You tried."

"S'there any'un else who'd like tuh try?" the attendant called out, picking up the gun and refilling it. "Ye can finish what teh boy start'd on, what d'ya say folks?"

"I'll do it."

Naruto blinked- the voice sounded absurdly familiar.

He craned his neck along with the crowd to spot the person who spoke up and his jaw dropped consequently in shock as the Uchiha stepped forward, brandishing a dollar between his fingers. Almost immediately, the crowd began hooting and laughing.

"Ei there, pretty boy!" the attendant laughed, grinning at him. "Ye wanna have a go? Well, why not. Knock yerself oot!"

He handed over the gun and Sasuke silently took it, weighing it experimentally in his hands. Naruto watched him in confusion and slight excitement.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" he whispered to himself, never letting his eyes off the dark haired boy.

The crowd was murmuring once again, sizing up the new contender with an air of interest.

"You think he can do it?"

"Doubt it."

"Just look at him, man. Prissy boy to the tee. Probably can't even hold a gun properly."

"Well, he looks okay..."

"Remy, EVERY guy looks okay to you..."

"Come on, you have to say, he's hot..."

"He is that..."

"Quiet, he's gonna shoot!"

Naruto leaned forward eagerly as Sasuke took the standard aiming pose, and he held his breath as the fingers closed in on the trigger...

BANG!

The crowd erupted into applause.

"I dun' believe it!"

"Look at that- clean shot if I ever seen one!"

"Way to go, kid!"

Sasuke calmly put down his gun and looked at the attendant.

"What do I get if I shoot three of those in a row?"

The attendant grinned a toothy grin. "Ye get a big 'un, of course! Go on, lad. Let's see ye shoot sum more."

Sasuke scanned his eyes over the prize shelf and nodded at the large, stuffed frog.

"That one."

"Ay." The man agreed, laughing. "If ye shoot all three. Think ye can dee it?"

Sasuke replied with a cock of his gun. The crowd went wild with the sudden challenge.

"Ooh, this is fun."

"I betcha ten he can't do it."

"I betcha twenty he can."

"He's sooooooooo cool."

"Remy, you think all guys are cool."

"Well, you got to admit he's cool."

"That's true."

"Then quit yammering abou-"

BANG!

BANG!

Everyone fell silent as they blinked in confusion. What had just happened?

"That's three." Sasuke leaned back and coolly put down his gun. "I win."

The crowd gaped at him and silently turned to look at the shooting range. True enough, three small bears had fallen clean off their shelves, lying innocently on the ground.

"Did you see what happened?"

"No, did you?"

"He didn't even aim!"

They began to murmur excitedly as they realized what had happened.

"Damn, he's good!"

"Wow, Ted. That's a blow to your ego, huh?"

"Aw, shucks. Not from you, Lisa." Ted laughed.

"Whoohoo! Go Sasuke!" Naruto cheered, beaming at the smirking boy who had both hands on his pockets.

The attendant shook his head, fetching the large stuffed frog from its shelf.

"I dun' believe it. Me eyes are deceivin' me." He laughed, handing it over to Sasuke. "Ye shoot well, kid."

"I try." Sasuke coolly replied, turning over to the blonde. He silently handed the frog over.

Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly received the armful of frog. Staring at the googly eyes looking back at him, he opened his mouth to speak...

"Sasuke, this-"

"You can have it, dobe."

Naruto silently looked up at the Uchiha, who was shrugging at him. "I got it for you, anyway."

Some girls began squealing somewhere along the sides (no doubt, fangirls) while more than half of the crowd began murmuring in exclamation.

"Well, I'll be darned..."

"Aw, how cute..."

"Does that mean he's gay?"

Sasuke pointedly ignored the last statement and dragged the still flabbergasted blonde away from the stand.

"Come on, let's go."

Naruto stumbled after him, stammering in his nervousness.

"Th-thanks, Sasuke. I was- I didn't- You shouldn't have..."

"It's no big deal."

Naruto fervently shook his head. "It IS! Did you see how the crowd- you were so good, Sasuke! Everyone was like- whoa! And I just..." he turned admiring eyes to the calmly walking Uchiha. "You were absolutely amazing."

Sasuke told himself that his stomach had yet to settle down, and that is why it was doing some strange summersaults at the moment.

"Yeah, well... Anyone could do it, if they tried..." Sasuke mumbled, suddenly feeling bashful.

"No, they can't." Naruto insisted, proudly lifting his frog up higher as he noticed people staring at his bundle. He shifted closer to Sasuke and smiled at him. He didn't say it out loud, but he took special pride in the fact that Sasuke probably never won anyone else a prize… ever. Ultimately cheered by this thought, Naruto grabbed onto the Uchiha's arm and huddled close, trying to let his overflowing affections for this dark haired, dark eyed youth be known.

Sasuke, it seemed, didn't mind this show of affection in the very least.

"Where do you want to go next?"

Naruto shrugged. "You can pick... I promised, remember?"

"Uh huh..." Sasuke scanned the grounds and randomly pointed at a ride. "That one, then."

Naruto took one look at it, paled, then laughed nervously.

"Why don't we go on that one instead?" the blonde pointed at the ferris wheel. "Maybe we'll see your house from the top."

Sasuke did not miss the look on his face, and immediately, a spark of inspiration joined by his vindictive streak flared inside him.

"I get to choose, dobe, and I choose that one." Sasuke smirked. "What's the matter? SCARED?"

"Actually, yes." Naruto stammered, staring up at the space shuttle ride which was currently spinning its passengers inside in a wild, endless circle. "I have a thing about enclosed spaces. Can we please just go ride the ferris wheel?"

"No." Sasuke firmly replied. He began to drag the blonde towards the line, inwardly laughing in dark triumph. Finally- REVENGE!

Naruto whined.

Naruto begged.

Naruto kicked and screamed.

But Sasuke was having too much fun.

"Sasuke, I know I've been a real bad guy- forcing you into rides and all..." Naruto stammered, miserably stuck in line. "And I'll make it up to you, I swear I will, just- don't make me ride that... that... prison!"

"Stop overreacting, dobe." Sasuke boredly replied. "Does that thing look ultimately scary to you? You've dragged me to worse places, believe me."

"I don't give a damn about loops and dips!" Naruto cried. "In fact, I LOVE them! It's just that this-"

"Look, it's our turn." Sasuke interrupted, pushing the blonde towards the front. "In you go."

And Naruto, pale, clammy and all, was shoved into an empty, waiting cockpit. His frog had been taken away from him by the attendant with the light promise that it would be returned 'shortly after the ride'.

"Sasuke!" he cried.

The Uchiha promptly followed inside and the door of their car slammed shut. Immediately, they were plunged into darkness.

"Aw, shit."

Sasuke ignored the muttering blonde beside him and made himself comfortable on the hard, plastic seats. He groped around and fingered the cold, metal bar stretched across them. He felt around the area of his shoulders and yanked on the leather belts and strapped them across his chest. He turned towards the blonde and wordlessly strapped him in as well.

"Sasuke, I don't like this..."

"How you can be so afraid of this ride compared to that ridiculous Flying Carpet is beyond me." Sasuke muttered, securing the blonde's belt.

"That's not it..." Naruto whispered, fumbling in the dark and grasping Sasuke's hand. "I'm claustrophobic..."

Sasuke snorted. "It'll pass... You'll see, once the ride starts up."

Naruto took in a deep breath.

"You SO owe me one." He grounded.

"Paid back, in full." Sasuke muttered beside him.

Some few minutes passed by as they waited for the ride to start. Sasuke chose to ignore that blonde muttering beside him, and steeled himself for what was surely going to be an insane jiggle to his still protesting stomach. The things he does for that dobe...

Whirrrrrrrrrr……………

"Ah, it's starting." Sasuke lightly commented.

The engine gave a rough start, and slowly, they began moving... Naruto let out a small squeak and grabbed the Uchiha's arm, burying his head in the crook of his neck. Sasuke had barely time to protest before the small cockpit suddenly flew up, leaving their stomach and their breath on the ground.

"Oh, damn." Sasuke cursed, before the ride jerked once more and sent them spiraling downwards, and into spinning motion.

Somewhere, beside him (or probably above, he wasn't sure anymore), someone screamed- and it was in his muddled mind that a sarcastic voice quipped out who it could be. The scream did not alarm him- Naruto screamed at any and every ride they've been on. Being deaf on one ear was enough proof.

The ride spun on and on, occasionally dipping them in a wild loop or a long drop- all of which was unexpected as the next. For a while, all Sasuke could concentrate on was the acute headache he coming on and the disgruntled feeling at the pit of his stomach. He was never coming back to his horrid place- NEVER. Clowns and cotton candy be damned, an Uchiha cannot be allowed to be reduced to such simpletons!

-And then, the world stopped.

Sasuke blinked open his eyes (when had he closed them?), and stared quizzically at the black headboard of the cramped cockpit. There was a groan of the machine, and a great shuddering force, then all was quiet... The Uchiha shut his eyes briefly as the swirling sensation assaulted him, as if punishing him for the rough handling he did to himself.

"Kami, remind me to get myself CAT scanned and soon..." He mumbled to himself, waiting for his nerves to settle down.

It was a while before the deafening silence and unnatural stillness made itself known. Sasuke turned his gaze towards the blonde (who had unceremoniously shoved his head down Sasuke's neck) and waited quietly for the long due response. He pondered poking him to check if he was still breathing, but decided against it. Knowing the blonde, he wouldn't last a minute without opening his trap, anyway.

"…Sasuke?"

There we go.

The Uchiha merely looked back at him. The blonde was peering up at him with trembling blue eyes.

"We stopped."

"Thank you for the observation." Sasuke dryly commented.

Naruto, despite frantic urges to squelch the terrified screams that threatened to spill from his mouth, bravely lifted his head up from where it was wedged between Sasuke's neck, looking cautiously around and trying to get his vision to adjust to the dark.

His arms were still firmly wrapped around the Uchiha's neck (not that Sasuke was complaining) as he surveyed the enclosed space of the shuttle, his earlier claustrophobia returning with a vengeance.

"Sasuke..." Naruto whispered, trying to get as close as possible to the boy. "Make it move."

The Uchiha furrowed his brows, glancing down at the him. "How do you suppose am I going to do that?"

"I don't know." Naruto mumbled, his eyes darting uncomfortably around. "I don't like this... I really, REALLY don't like this..."

Sasuke honestly began to feel bad for the blonde, and felt a twinge of regret for forcing the blonde to take the ride. He wrapped an arm around him and held him closer, allowing the blonde to bury his face to his neck again.

"When are we going to move?"

"Soon." Sasuke reassured, hoping that it was true. "Just a little while longer before I get to tease you for being such a baby." He attempted to bring back the blonde's fighting spirit.

Naruto did not rise up to the bait.

Sasuke sighed. "Why are you so afraid of such enclosed spaces? Usuratonkachi."

Sniffle.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt wetness sliding down his neck. He grabbed the blonde and held him out for a look.

"Dobe... are you CRYING?"

"No..."

"You are." Sasuke confirmed, feeling the blonde's shoulders shaking beneath his grip. "Why? Don't tell me..." Sasuke's eyes widened incredulously. "You really are scared?"

"No..." Naruto hesitated. "Sasuke, you promise I won't get hurt?"

Sasuke dropped the blonde. He stared at him incredulously as the blonde regarded him with honest fear and helplessness.

"What?"

"You promise I won't get-"

"Why the hell are you expecting to get hurt?" The Uchiha felt the ire in him rise as he began piecing things together.

"...I don't know, I'm not sure..." The blonde uncertainly replied, trembling. "Maybe because I-"

Sasuke did not wait for him to finish.

He kissed him.

Sasuke forcefully opened the blonde's mouth- forced him to acknowledge who it was, sitting in front of him now. Kissing him. Naruto tensed and desperately tried to push the dark haired boy away, but Sasuke wrapped his hand on the blonde's neck, deepening the kiss, running his tongue along the boy's lips, tasting him and leaving his mark there.

Slowly, gradually, the blonde loosened his grip, his mouth recognizing the tongue intruding his territory, his body recognizing the touch. Naruto closed his eyes and moaned softly into the kiss as he finally surrendered, wrapping his arms around Sasuke as the boy continued to kiss him. The Uchiha slipped a hand inside the blonde's shirt, tracing the flat stomach and the burn mark he had practically memorized in his mind. Breaking the kiss, he latched onto the blonde's neck, hearing a satisfied groan coming from the sinfully soft mouth above him.

"S-sasuke..."

"That's right." The boy murmured, in that low, sexy voice that sent shivers running down Naruto's spine. "Me. Sasuke. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Not now, not ever."

"Sasuke..." Naruto moaned again, as the boy licked a sinful trail up his chin, dipping into the warm, inviting mouth there.

"Do you feel that?" Sasuke whispered into his ear, licking the lobe and watching the blonde shiver in response. "Your body knows me... My touch..." he traced an arm up the blonde's arm. "My voice..." he blew gently into his ear. "...My body..."

Sasuke looked down at the blonde. "Look at me."

Slowly, Naruto opened his eyes. His vision had adjusted fairly, and he could now make out Sasuke's dark features. It was as if everything else had cleared for him, and Sasuke was there- HIS Sasuke. MY Sasuke. He reached out and wrapped his arms around the boy, desperate to be held.

"I'm sorry..." he sighed.

"It's all right..." Sasuke whispered back, holding the blonde as he wished. His arms fell perfectly onto the boy and Naruto melted into his embrace.

Perfect.

They were perfect.

"I shouldn't have forced you into this." Sasuke admitted, a little ruefully. "I didn't realize your Claustrophobia was real."

"I wouldn't lie to you about this!" Naruto protested into his neck, refusing to lift up from his position, cuddled into the boy's embrace.

"Hn."

Sasuke shifted in his seat, trying to get into a more comfortable position in the cramped space. The shuttle was relatively big enough to fit two people- but only just. It wasn't meant to be stayed in for so long a time... Sasuke's brows furrowed as he finally felt the toll of the lack of oxygen. This was bad. He looked down anxiously at the blonde cradled in his arms and cursed the engine for breaking out on them like this.

"Sasuke?" came the meek voice.

Curses once more.

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't we moving?"

Curses, curses, CURSES!!

"They're probably fixing the engine up." Sasuke replied, in what he hoped was a confident tone. "We'll be able to move soon enough."

"Okay." Naruto replied in a small voice.

Silence stretched out in an agonizing eternity, and Sasuke could practically hear the sweat trailing down his cheek. Below him, Naruto shifted a bit. Sasuke froze as he felt soft, soft lips grazing lightly on his neck. He eyed the tuft of blonde hair warily and tried his best to ignore it.

This task proved impossible to do, as Naruto shifted once more, sending jolts of electricity straight down to his nether regions.

"Naruto..." Sasuke gritted out, trying his best to quell nasty thoughts threatening to spill from his mind. "Can you... stop moving?"

"Sorry..." Naruto shifted uncomfortably, lifting his head up just a fraction to look at the dark haired boy apologetically. "But it's getting really uncomfortable..."

Sasuke sighed, and he knew it was out of the question to suggest the blonde let go of him. He was distracted from his thoughts as the blonde moved closer up to him, shyly lifting up a leg to rest atop his.

"Dobe..." Sasuke warned, willing his libido to calm down. "I am not carrying you..."

"But Sasuke..." Naruto whined, "I promise I won't move as much... Promise!"

Sasuke wanted very much to say NO, dammit, if you don't want me to rape you here, then NO- but who the hell can resist a pleading, pouting blonde dobe who was practically begging to be ravaged into the next millennium?

"Fine." Sasuke muttered, finally giving in. "But if you move a muscle, I swear, I will-" he stopped himself from continuing.

Naruto did not waste any time as he climbed onto the Uchiha's lap, happily snuggling back into the reluctant, albeit welcoming body. Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"He's going to kill me for this later..."

And... for your benefit, Sasuke will leave it to your imagination what happened after that...


	25. Destroy

To my darling readers of TWTS:

Once again THANK YOU for the wonderful hurdles of review. You know how much I love you right? XD Before anything else, the following words I have from this point on will be for someone who called him?/her?self **passingreader. **Sorry dear, I didn't know of any other way of contacting you.. XD For the rest of you sweet things, you can scroll down a bit and I've left a message there just for you guys. XD

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I won't lie to you, darling- I knew this was going to happen one way or another. XD It's about time actually, that someone finally said something about how Blondie's become so weak. BUT- I DO wish you'd hear me out, as I have you.

Writing Naruto's character for this plot has been a little challenging for me, because of one very obvious fact that I hope you understand well enough: He's psychologically unstable. Naw, I'm not talking shrink-needing psycho- but real close. It's been my prior worry that people would fail to realize just how much damage he's gotten, but at the same time, struggling to piece himself back together bit by bit. It's a real FINE line that I'm treading on- the thin string between insanity and trauma and I'm so sorry that I haven't been much of an author to develop it more fully. I deeply apologize.

I think I fail as an author when I try to justify myself of what I wrote, but here it goes anyway. Naruto isn't weak- the mere fact that he's still up and trying to fight says enough of the strength and courage he has... If you'd notice, at the start of the chapter, blondie's the tough, I'll-give-you-a-piece-of-my-mind attitude kinda guy; which he kinda has to be since he came from an environment where hatred for him spawns like mushrooms on fungi. But here comes Sasuke and Neji and Gaara and these bunch of people who, for once don't hate his guts just for existing. Gradually, they chip away at the walls surrounding him and boom- what do they find? A raw and (still bloody) shivering body that's taken a lot more shit than an average person. Not pretty.

I don't know about portraying Naruto as 'girly' or, um, whatever it was you called it... but I was trying to bring out the emotional tragedy of healing- something that Naruto is slowly and unconsciously going through while being in love with Sasuke. The bastard may not look it but he's slowly but surely (and painfully) helping Naruto re-face his dark fears and the beauty of it is that this time- he won't have to do that alone anymore. Can you imagine something so fragile and as intricate as humanity?

This was what I wanted to show, and I am deeply regretting that I have not given much attention to it. Thank you for your wake up call- surely, this was God's way of telling me that I should pay more attention to what I write. XD

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And I am back! Hahaa... Sorry about that, I just felt really, really bad for passingreader and I hope he/she would accept my apology. I understand that passingreader wouldn't even come back to read this, but... ah well... For the benefit of hoping... XD

So anyway! I know this is kind of a long AN, but I'm hoping you would understand! I really DO have to be thankful for you wonderful darlings for your unending grace and understanding, don't I? I swear, I have the best readers- you make me so warm and happy and your reviews give me space to improve! What more can I want?

You know the answer! I'll love you forever if you do! XD

Happy reading!

cookie

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**Destroy**

"The world loves

Those who destroy it."

-D.grayman

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"Good morning!"

Shikamaru glanced up from his position sprawled over his desk, raising a curious brow.

"Aren't we in a good mood?"

The lazy genius' brows promptly furrowed as the blonde giggled.

_Giggled. _

"You can say that." Naruto cheerfully replied. "Does it really show?"

"Brilliantly, yes." Shikamaru muttered.

"Haha!"

The lazy genius had to wrinkle his nose as he watched the blonde strike a ridiculous pose, complete with the victory sign (of which victory, he did not know).

"The world has been on my side, recently!" the blonde wriggled his eyebrows, as if in a conspiracy. "Things have just gone my way for once and I'm feeling damn right _skippy_. Is there a crime for that?"

"No." Shikamaru hid a smile. "I take it Uchiha's finally got his hands on you?"

Immediately, the blonde flushed a dark red. "What?! Where did you... what are- it's not what you- KIBAAAAA!!"

The pony tailed boy casually glanced at his nails, pointedly ignoring the disgruntled blonde yelling for his traitorous friend.

"Heel, boy. For once, it wasn't Kiba's big mouth that came out and spilling." Shikamaru slowly said, calmly enjoying the murderous intent radiating from the blonde. "I'm not called a genius for nothing. I have eyes, you know."

The blonde's mouth snapped closed.

"Eyes?" he weakly repeated.

"Uh huh." Shikamaru drawled. "And so do other people, so I suggest you be careful with what you're doing, blondie. Unless..." he gave a sideward glance. "You don't mind other people knowing?"

Naruto stumbled awkwardly. "Well... um..."

"Not that it's any of my business." Shikamaru smoothly saved the blonde from any more discomfort. "Just saying, that's all."

"I see..." Naruto paused a moment to ponder on his words. "Thanks, Shikamaru."

"For what?"

"I dunno... For your words of wisdom?" The blonde grinned.

Shikamaru snorted. "Call me Dr. Love why doncha."

The blonde chortled, stuffing his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. The mere THOUGHT of Shikamaru doing Dr. Love business was too fucking RICH.

"You won't tell, won't you?" Naruto meekly looked up at his lazy friend, who had settled his feet comfortably on Kiba's chair and looked just about ready to fall asleep.

"Like I said, it isn't really any of my business who you're kissing." Shikamaru murmured. "And I don't think it's any other people's business either."

Naruto grinned at him.

"I know I can count on 'ya."

"You're corny."

"No." Naruto grinned. "Call me Shakespeare."

Despite himself, Shikamaru snickered. That Shakespeare joke was getting old, but it was still damn _funny_.

"I don't know about you, but I swear Kiba had better stop blaming ever other weird shit on some dead guy." Naruto randomly mused. "I mean, when was the last time Shakespeare ever mentioned anything about boneless chickens dancing the cancan?"

"Never." Shikamaru helpfully muttered.

"My point exactly."

"Speaking of which," the boy opened one bleary eye to look at Naruto. "What d'you make of Kiba during the 'ends?"

"Definitely weird." Naruto promptly replied, remembering the strange phone conversation he had with the boy.

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow at him and the blonde judiciously corrected himself.

"Okay, weirder than usual." The blonde snickered. "I called him at his place, Saturday, see, and he was mutterin' stuff... I asked him what was wrong and then he suddenly yelled Gaara's name."

"Sabaku?" Shikamaru repeated from underneath his arms. "What's the redhead got to do with anything?"

"I dunno, which is why I was gonna ask you." Naruto looked at him interestingly. "What's your story?"

"I didn't really get much from what happened yesterday." Shikamaru muttered, his head still cradled in his arms. "His call interrupted me from my sleep and then he was yelling about some stupid X-men trying to mutate his babies."

Naruto felt the snicker ricochet from his nose so quickly, it was painful.

"What?"

"Like I said, I didn't get it." The lazy boy yawned. "I hung up on him before he could do any more damage to my health."

"I think I'm getting worried." Naruto tapped a finger on his desk. "You think he's alright?"

"Personally? I think I'm more afraid FOR the poor whoever or whatever's behind his mad dog streak."

Naruto looked at him and Shikamaru nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, even if that poor whoever or whatever goes by the name of one Sabaku Gaara."

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"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Sabaku Gaara- The most feared, red head demon took one look at the left wing corridor and decidedly turned around to walk the other way. Immediately, the voice behind him escalated, and in his irritation, sped up his pace to spare himself the anomaly of experiencing the... thing that called himself his lab partner, this early in the god forbidden morning.

Easily picking his way through the crowded hallway (people automatically stepped out of his way after all; thank God for small miracles), he smoothly rounded the corner and quickly calculated the quickest shortcut to his homeroom class. He frowned distastefully as he realized that the insane fuck brain tailing him sat directly in front of him in the same freaking classroom.

Bother.

"YOU SKUNK BRAIN! YOU HAIRY TESTICLE! COME BACK HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!!!!!!"

Gaara's fingers tightened over the strap of his satchel as he marched determinedly AWAY from the screaming wonder. If only- if ONLY that insufferable mutt head wasn't a friend of Naruto he would- $#$($#$(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He sharply rounded up another corner and was just about to try to figure out where he was, when his nose hit something firm and very solid, making him stumble back both in irritation and physics concept.

A scathing remark was well on its way out of Gaara's mouth, when a pale hand shot out to catch him by the shoulder, firmly restoring him the equilibrium needed.

"No running in the corridors." came the calm admonishment, and the redhead's nonexistent brows furrowed in contempt. "You could have hurt somebody."

"I won't once they get outta my way." Gaara snarled, looking up at the culprit.

Pale, pale, almost pearly eyes met his hard gaze, and for a moment, Gaara was stilled into trying to remember where exactly he'd seen such a pair before...

"You have a lot of guts, using that tone in front of the SC room."

Gaara blinked, as his sluggish brain finally clicked.

"Oh, it's you." His tone turned sullen. His eyes crept up at the sign above that indeed informed him they were in the SC and Faculty floor. How the hell did he manage to end up here of all places?

"It's nice to see you too, Gaara-san." Neji cocked an eyebrow.

"YOU CAN'T GET AWAY!"

A loud sound akin to an explosion, and then a blur of movement to the right! Gaara and Neji tuned around as a figure hurtled towards them with alarming speed, practically kicking up dust in his wake.

"YOU! Hold it right THERE! Don't move an inch or I'll !$#& you to !#$#$#$ till there's nothing left on your sorry piece of #$#$#$ -"

Kiba screeched to a halt in front of the two formidable looking figures, his next stream of colorful language dying in his throat at the sight of the Hyuuga.

"Guh..." he stammered.

"Impressive use of language." Neji politely remarked, addressing the stuttering boy. "Very creative. However, I don't think it's very much appropriate to be using such... ah, delicate words in the premise of the school, as I'm sure you understand."

Kiba had given up all sort of coherency and simply gaped at the SC president, forgetting for a fraction of a moment why he had landed in such situation. He was quickly reminded, though...

"Oh, very impressive." Gaara muttered disgustedly, watching the boy practically drooling over the Hyuuga. "Really. You are so profound I think I forgot what a total idiot you were."

Neji remained impassive.

"What brings you here, Gaara of the Sand?" he coolly asked.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at the old nickname- one that he had been branded with ever since he got renowned as a very dangerous person.

"Nothing. I came here out of my own accord."

Neji shrugged. "What was it you wanted?"

The red head snorted. "Nothing you have to offer."

The Hyuuga chose to let the implied insult slide, focusing once again on the boy behind the red head, who had now resorted to glaring at his (unwilling) lab partner heatedly, as if determined to burn a mark through his head.

"What about you?" Neji regarded him politely. "What brings you here with such... delicate company...?" he let the question hang.

"Kiba." He promptly replied, grinning a toothy grin. "Inuzuka Kiba, at your service, Hyuuga-sama."

Gaara visibly snorted.

"Inuzuka-san," Neji calmly continued. "My question…?"

"Huh?" Kiba blinked, before comprehending. "Oh yeah... Oh YEAH!" the boy suddenly snapped his fingers, his anger and vigor returning with a kick as his memory finally did. "YOU!" he rounded on the redhead, pointing an accusing finger. "You selfish, incompetent, arrogant BASTARD!"

Neji blinked. This freshman dared speak to Sabaku Gaara like that? He was either very brave, or very very stupid.

"I do half the report, and here I am, being a nice ass and COMPRIMISING a proposal that we do the rest together as PARTNERS and- AURGH!" Kiba suddenly tore at his hair in frustration, his face scrunching up at the painful memory. "What the HELL did you tear the report for, you complete IDIOT!"

Gaara's glare was ugly.

"If you can call such pathetic attempt a report." He bluntly retorted. "It was so horrible it wasn't even worth reading."

"You didn't even READ it!" Kiba practically spitted fire.

"One sentence." Gaara drew his lips in a thin line. "That was enough for me to know what kind of rubbish it was."

Kiba was so angry he paled with rage, his body shaking with its intensity. Neji took this as his cue to step in, seeing as it was his duty to ensure there would be no bloodshed in the campus. At least, not while he was around.

"Classes will begin shortly, and I don't think you'd want detention by being late for your homeroom. I suggest you settle this CIVILLY at the appropriate time at the appropriate place."

"You hear that?" Kiba scowled at him. "We settle this, hotshot, and you better be around to talk."

"I don't want to waste my breath." Gaara muttered darkly.

"What did you say?!"

"Now's not the time, Inuzuka-san..." Neji injected sharply.

Immediately, Kiba simmered down. Gaara rolled his eyes. Like a good lap dog.

"Go on, now." Neji nodded at Gaara, pointing at the direction of their classroom. "You have ten minutes."

Gaara glared at him.

"You're not the boss of me." He growled.

Neji's expression was vigilant. "On the contrary, I am the boss of EVERYBODY. Being SC president accounts to that, I assure you. Now run along, before I am forced to sanction you for violent behavior and disrespect."

Kiba crowed in triumph and stuck out his tongue at the redhead.

"Both of you."

In the end, Neji had to escort the two glaring children down the hall, into the classroom and into their respective seats. People openly stared as the respectable SC president calmly dusted off his hands as if finished with a job well done. At the very least, they were both still alive...

"Neji!" Naruto blinked in surprise and rose from his seat. Beside him, Shikamaru didn't even stir. "What are you doing here?"

"Making a delivery." The SC president shrugged, offering a small smile. "How have you been, Naruto?"

"Very well, thanks." The blonde grinned. "You?"

"So-so..." Neji shrugged. He snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "Ah yes... Can I speak to you for a moment, please?"

The blonde shrugged. "Sure."

Neji gestured for him to follow outside. Naruto took one look at the simmering Kiba and the coldly stoic Gaara and frowned. What had they done this time? He moved to follow the older student out the door, when the said door slid open to announce the Uchiha's arrival. His eyes flicked over from the SC president to the blonde and finally over to the still stoic redhead, silently trying to process the situation.

"Naruto, a word..." Neji reminded the blonde softly, politely sidestepping the Uchiha and out the door. The blonde smiled at Sasuke and gently squeezed his hand as he passed him by.

"Morning."

Sasuke nodded at him, grabbing the hand for a moment. "What's going on?" he murmured.

"Nothing. Neji just wants a word." Naruto's smile widened. "I think its something about Kiba. And Gaara."

"What about those two?"

"We'll see. I don't really know yet."

Sasuke frowned but let him go. "Hurry up."

Naruto nodded and stepped out of the room, sliding the door gently behind him. All this, Shikamaru witnessed in the crook of his arms- the murmured words and the slight touches... By golly, those two ARE the real thing...

Outside, Naruto had caught up to Neji, who was waiting patiently by the corner. Immediately, as if sensing the boy was coming, he smiled and pushed himself off the wall to properly face the blonde.

"Hey." Naruto grinned at him. "What's up?"

"You should keep a closer eye on that redhead of yours, Naruto." Neji amusedly said. "He nearly did some bodily harm on that Inuzuka Kiba, the foolish boy."

Naruto snorted. "Gaara may be all that but he won't hurt Kiba."

Neji had to raise a brow at the confidence in his tone. "That might be, but it seemed 'Kiba' was really bent on annoying the redhead enough to get beaten up. Does he have a masochistic streak in him somewhere?"

Naruto burst out laughing. Neji couldn't make himself tell the blonde that boisterous laughing was not permitted in the hallway either, so he contended himself by smiling at him.

"Oh boy... They say it's always the quiet ones..." Naruto sighed. "You're real funny, Neji."

"Thank you. I try."

"Thanks for worrying about Kiba and Gaara..." Naruto jokingly patted him on the arm. "You're one damn fine SC president. But I'm absolutely, positively sure that Gaara won't harm a hair on Kiba's head- no matter how annoying he can get."

"I like your confidence in him." Neji agreed. "But I hope you know what you are doing... Do you know who Gaara was before you became his friend, Naruto?"

"Maybe." The blonde shrugged. "But I don't really care anymore. What's past is past and the Gaara I know is the one here right now. Not the Gaara of the Sand, or the Red demon... Just Gaara."

"Indeed."

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!!

"Oops, that's the bell." Naruto grimaced, stuffing his fingers into his ear. "Hey Neji, could you do something about those insufferable things? I swear I am partially deaf because of it."

"I'll look into it." Neji agreed.

"Thanks a bunch." The blonde grinned at him. He raised a hand as he moved towards his classroom. "See you around!"

"Oh, and Naruto..."

The blonde spun around. "Hm?"

"I have something that belongs to you."

"You do?"

Neji nodded, smiling a bit. "It's small and very interesting looking... Large eyes and green skin... Familiar?"

Naruto pondered a bit and rolled the data carefully in his mind. AH!

"My GAMA-CHAN!"

"Is that its name?" Neji looked amused.

"You found my Gama-chan?" Naruto ecstatically cried, grabbing his hands. "Oh Neji, I could KISS you!"

"Not unwanted, but inappropriate for the moment." Neji laughed. "I'm sorry but I left your... erm, Gama-chan at my house today. Come by the SC room anytime next week and I'll give it to you."

"Next week?"

"Yes. I'll be terribly busy this week because of preparations for the Junior sports marathon."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Naruto nodded. "The juniors of the soccer team are on leave for next week because of that. Good luck, then."

"Thank you."

The SC president nodded towards the classroom. "I think its time you get back."

"No worries." Naruto waved a hand. "Kakashi's always late anyway, so I'm safe."

"It's not Kakashi-sensei I'm concerned about." The Hyuuga softly murmured.

"Huh?"

Neji shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Thank you for your time, Naruto. Take care."

The SC president turned to leave.

"You take care too, Neji." Naruto waved. "I'll visit you sometime next week!"

The Hyuuga smiled at him. "I will be waiting." And he rounded off the corner and disappeared.

Naruto waited till he heard the last of his footsteps fade into the distance before turning around to return to his room.

"Gah!"

Naruto shut his eyes as he felt himself collide with another body, shock and a burst of electricity jolting down his nerves. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he grumbled that he had been bumping into too many things/persons/et all a little bit too much recently.

"Dobe..."

The blonde blinked, looking up to Sasuke's dark, questioning eyes.

"Oh, Sasuke... Don't scare me like that."

The Uchiha nodded towards the direction the Hyuuga had taken off. "What did he want?"

Naruto shrugged. "Just a few words… Oh, and he warned me to keep a closer eye on Gaara and Kiba. What am I, their keeper?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"I don't like him."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Like there's anyone you DO like. Come on, bastard, let's go back in."

"He's trying to flirt with you!" Sasuke insisted, allowing the blonde to drag him by the hand.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, as if he aint got anything better to do."

"You're not taking me seriously-"

"Aw, come on Sasuke, don't make this difficult for me." The blonde frowned. "Neji's a good guy. He was my first friendly face in Konoha. I don't want to lose a perfectly nice friend like him." He slid the door open and entered the noisy classroom. "Trust me; he's the last person you should worry about."

Sasuke snorted but silently followed the blonde inside.

"Oi, Gaara!" Naruto ambled over to the silent redhead, planting himself firmly in the redhead's line of sight.

The redhead slowly raised his green eyes towards the blonde, his gaze hard and challenging. The blonde stared at him silently for a whole minute, and to the rest of the world, it looked like they were having a staring contest. Silently, Sasuke took his seat, completely ignoring them.

"You little arrogant, punk, you..." Naruto suddenly grinned, musing up the crown of red hair with his hand. "You do know I love you, right?"

Gaara blinked then sighed. "Yeah. Me too." He slumped back into his seat, the tenseness in his shoulder gone, replaced by his usual moodiness.

Naruto continued to grin at him. Inwardly, he wanted to squeeze the life out of his temperamental friend. Gaara had gone a looooooooooong way from the brash punk who did not hesitate to punch whoever blocked his way, to the self-controlling, considerate friend who sat a foot away from the cause of his irritation. (Cause of irritation Kiba Naruto's friend) Was it a crime to feel soooooooooo proud of Gaara right now?

"Poor baby." The blonde cooed jokingly. "Did big, bad Kiba ruffle your widdle feathers?"

Gaara growled. "Shut up, if you don't want this hand stuffed down your throat."

Naruto laughed.

"That's my Gaara."

Satisfied, the blonde plopped down his seat and turned to Kiba, who was quietly staring into his desk.

"Hey, Kiba-"

"Am I bad, Naruto?"

The blonde closed his mouth, startled at the sudden question. "Huh?"

"Am I a bad person, Naruto?" Kiba pressed, turning his wide eyes towards the blonde. "Have I done something to deserve this kind of punishment?!"

Some two seats away, Shikamaru snorted in his sleep.

"Er, no Kiba. I don't think you're a bad person."

"God has forsaken me..." The boy continued to mutter, ignoring the blonde. "Conspiracy... The whole world is one big conspiracy... Yes, we are all tricked into thinking... hmm..."

Naruto, wide eyed, slowly turned to face the blackboard. He blinked as a few people curiously asked him what happened to Kiba.

"Um..." He glanced back at the moping boy. "I think Gaara happened to him..."

aaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaa

"...Isn't that Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Kyaa! It IS!"

"Oh my god, he is HOT!"

"What is Uchiha Sasuke doing here?! Is my hair okay? Do I look okay?!"

Naruto blinked, his hands stilling from the act of mopping the floor. Sasuke? Here...? He turned around and craned his neck, scanning the court for the tell tale raven head and the stormy black eyes...

Sure enough, there he was... Naruto leaned lightly on his mop as he surveyed the calm, almost bored air around the Uchiha as he leant casually by the entrance of the court. The women populace, upon spotting said Uchiha, had all but dropped whatever it was they had been doing to flock around the boy.

"Kya- Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?"

"Did you want something, Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto's hand twitched involuntarily as he spied someone grabbing hold of the boy, while another pair grabbed for his hands. Those bitches!

As if on cue, Sasuke looked up and caught his eyes. Naruto quickly looked away, embarrassed that the Uchiha had seen his glaring gaze. He worked furiously on the floor, trying his best to ignore the squeals and cooing on the other side of the basketball court. He tried to ignore the eyes that looked him up and down- and he could FEEL them, those hot, intense eyes that practically undressed him piece by piece...

"Stop looking at me, dammit..." Naruto whispered, furiously jabbing at his map. He knew his neck was red and he knew Sasuke could see it. Damn.

The Uchiha stayed in his position for a second longer, then, saying something about talking to the blonde dobe to the screaming fan girls, slowly sauntered over the said blonde, who was still busy trying to ignore him. He planted himself in front of the boy and waited, a smirk playing on his lips.

Finally...

"What do you want?"

Sasuke's smirk widened. "You are missing practice, MANAGER-kun..."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "It's not my fault! I was put in this stupid detention by that stupid Art teacher. You'd think that with that kind of subject, the LEAST he can do is spare students the agony of wiping floors."

Sasuke hid a smile.

"You DID spill all that water onto Kiba's painting... Not to mention getting the floor all wet."

"YOU were distracting me." The blonde shot back.

Sasuke snickered. "I was?"

The blonde shot him a dirty glare. "Go away so we can all go back to work. You are DISTRACTING."

Sasuke ignored the blonde's pointed look at the group of drooling girls behind him, instead, sidled up suggestively towards the blonde.

"Am I really that distracting?" He whispered, smirking.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"N-not here, Sasuke..." he stammered, tightening his grip on the mop. "People are watching."

"Let them watch."

Naruto stifled a laugh. "Go on now, CAPTAIN. Your team is probably waiting."

Sasuke relented, finally moving back to survey the blonde. "Meet you after practice?"

"I can't..." he wistfully replied. "I have to go straight to Ichirakus." The blonde's face darkened. "Though I'm not sure what I expect to see after Lee's..." he trailed off, looking a bit frightened at the thought.

"Ah, that's right..." Sasuke mused.

"You can drop by Ichirakus." Naruto suggested hopefully, secretly wanting to spend time with the Uchiha.

Sasuke paused.

"I don't think so." He finally murmured, unconsciously raising a hand to his hair. "I'll just call you, then. Itachi's going to be home early so I don't think you should be around anyway."

Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine at the mention of the older Uchiha's name.

"Yeah... I guess..."

Sasuke fell silent, regarding the blonde with unreadable eyes. Consciously, Naruto fidgeted with his mop.

"What?" he finally snapped, defensive.

"Nothing..." The Uchiha murmured, raising up a pale hand to gently pat the surprised blonde on the cheek. "Just thinking about things..."

Naruto's eyes unconsciously fell on the Ucihah's lips and his voice began to falter.

"What kind of things?"

"Hm..." Sasuke's lips quirked into a slight smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Sasuke..."

The Uchiha dared another step forward and rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder. He leaned closer to whisper in his ear, and to anyone else, it looked like he was whispering something terrible...

"You are mine, dobe..."

Naruto stiffened as his entire face flamed up at the bold statement.

"Teme!" The blonde hissed, shoving at the Uchiha. "I told you NOT HERE!"

Sasuke shrugged. "No one heard." He narrowed his eyes. "What? Are you ashamed of me?"

Naruto sighed. "NO, I'm not ashamed of you..." he murmured. "I'm just... edgy on what people will say about you."

Sasuke blinked.

"About me?"

"Yeah..." The blonde fiddled with his mop. "You're... Sasuke Uchiha..."

"I am aware of that."

Naruto raised his arms up in frustration, ignoring the mop that fell to the floor. "You know what I mean! You're SASUKE and people look up to you... You even have a freakin' fan club."

Sasuke waited for the blonde to continue, frowning distastefully.

"You... If people found out that you... you know..." Naruto dropped his eyes to the floor where the mop had fallen. "I just don't want you to get hurt..." he whispered.

Sasuke sighed.

"You dobe..."

"Hey!" Naruto's head snapped up in annoyance. "I'm WORRIED about you!"

"I give SHIT about what other people say or think about me." Sasuke rolled his eyes at his naive little idiot. "You worry too much, usuratonkachi..."

"But- your image..." Naruto protested.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, shifting closer to the blonde.

"Do you think..." he murmured. "That my image is going to destroy the fact that I am STILL the prominent captain of the soccer team... Or that I am STILL the most sexy Uchiha in this campus?"

The blonde couldn't help snort at the last bit.

"Pretty confident, are we?" he dryly said, bending to pick up his fallen mop.

"They can all go to hell, dobe." Sasuke snorted. "And I could care less."

Naruto let out a large sigh. "If you say so, Sasuke... But I still say you gotta SCRAM, mister, so I can finish my job."

"Aw, dobe... Are you so keen to get rid of me? I'm hurt." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I don't think so." He pointed a finger towards the exit. "Out."

"You can't just kick me out like that-"

"Oh no?" The blonde narrowed his eyes. "Watch me."

"Ouch." Sasuke scowled at him, rubbing his side where the blond had poked him with the mop. "You don't have to manhandle me. I'm leaving."

The blonde grinned at him. "Bye bye, then."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, punching the blonde on the shoulder as he walked past. "Call you."

Naruto nodded. "Good luck. Oh, and make sure Bobby does his stretches. He forgot to them last week and nearly killed himself in the field."

"Fine."

"And keep an eye on Konohamaru!" Naruto called after his back. "The brat always manages to fall over something one way or another."

"Got it." Sasuke rolled his eyes, not even turning to look at him.

"Oh and-"

"I can handle my team, dobe." Sasuke snapped, rounding to face the blonde. "You don't have to remind me of every little thing."

Naruto looked insulted.

"I was just going to tell you to be careful on your way home." He frowned, turning his back towards the Uchiha. "Asshole."

Sasuke immediately looked sorry and hesitated, fumbling with the right words.

"...Take care on your way home, too..." he finally managed.

Naruto merely shrugged. Sasuke looked like he wanted to approach the blonde again but decided against it, padding over to the door.

"Later, dobe."

Naruto stared solemnly into his mop handle, refusing to turn around to look at the Uchiha. It was a confusing feeling- love. It made him want to hate the dark haired boy and love him to bits at the same damn time. Fucking paradox. Even as of the moment, the blonde was feeling a myriad of emotions- some bordering on annoyance, some on sadness and some... well, he couldn't explain it. But he wasn't as annoyed as he thought he was supposed to be.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The blonde's hair rose as he recognized the breathy scream from the doorway. Wildly spinning around, his eyes confirmed the pink haired monstrosity currently hanging on the Uchiha's arm. Unconsciously, he bared his teeth. Sakura... get your _filthy_ claws of Sasuke or by GOD I will pull them out _painfully_, ONE by ONE...

"I don't have time for this right now, Haruno." came Sasuke's immediately cold response.

"It'll be quick, Sasuke-kun." Sakura assured him, sounding almost normal. At this sudden change of behavior, the Uchiha had to raise a suspicious brow.

"I'd like to ask you for another date." Sakura smiled at him sweetly, her fingers twining behind her back for effect. "I know our last date turned out rather... bad. But I'd like another chance."

Sasuke was more than healthily suspicious, and had given up trying to keep his eyes from narrowing.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing." Sakura innocently replied. "I just want another shot at you. Fair and square."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Sasuke positively said. Fair? This girl playing _fair_?

"Oh, I think I do." She boldly took a step forward, still smiling sweetly up at him. "I know what I want and I want you, Sasuke-kun. I'm just taking the necessary measures to achieve my goal. Is that so wrong?"

"It is." Sasuke snapped. "Because I clearly do not want anything to do with you. Now go away."

"Ah, ah..." Sakura wagged a finger. "What gentleman would refuse a lady's polite request with such boorish attitude?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed once again. Ah... There we go. Explains the change of tactic from the bouncy air headed girl to the suddenly civil and polite aristocrat. Crude, but clever enough, Sasuke grudgingly admitted.

"The lady would excuse me," Sasuke coolly replied, his eyes hardening to match her own coldly calculating eyes. "But I simply refuse to waste my time and breath."

"Such a pity." Sakura murmured. "Because I am sure I would have something that would interest you. Why don't you give me a shot, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke wanted to snort.

"I have no interest in you." He replied, with a touch of impatience. "How long do we have to go through this over and over again?"

"Till you finally understand, Sasuke-kun." The pink haired girl swiftly replied. "That I have something _you_ don't."

The Uchiha raised a finely sculpted brow.

"Do tell."

Sakura smiled, gracefully leaning over to whisper. "I'll give you a hint... Blonde hair and blue eyes... Obnoxious personality..."

Sasuke's eyes paled in anger as he finally registered what the girl was implying. His fists shook as he glared at the widely smirking Sakura.

"How _dare_ you..." Sasuke growled.

"I dare very much, thank you." Declared Sakura. "And I think, Sasuke-kun, that you would find me even more interesting in the coming future."

"You do not have hide nor hair of him, you bitch." Sasuke snarled. "How _dare_ you say that after all you've done..."

Sakura smiled up at him sweetly. "Whatever are you talking about, Sasuke-kun? I have simply _no_ idea."

"I'll kill you." Sasuke swore. "I will fucking kill you and your whole family."

"An empty threat, I am sure." Sakura coolly replied. "Now, now Sasuke... I'm not asking for much. All I want is a date..."

"Over my dead body."

Sakura sighed. "Why must you be so difficult always?" She cocked her head to the side. "Are you really meaning to risk the safety of your poor, sweet blonde by refusing me like this? After all, my tongue could just... _slip_..." she made a notion with her hand. "...And I might_ accidentally_ say something rather nasty to the cook. And we don't want that now, do we?"

Sasuke internally fumed. She was _threatening_ him. HIM! Sasuke fucking UCHIHA!

"Know your place, you pathetic plebian." Sasuke coldly said. "You are in no position to threaten me." He narrowed his eyes as he slightly bent over. "_New money_."

There was an astounding amount of satisfaction as the Uchiha saw the girl pale a bit in anger. But she composed herself rather quickly and smiled in reply.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that... After all, he is legally bound to us and therefore we have every _legal _rights to him." Her smile widened. "And no one- not even an Uchiha, has a right to question that."

The Uchiha growled.

Fuck damnit.

She just had to hit the spot, the bitch.

"Don't hurt him." Sasuke finally managed, biting back the insult he soooo longed to hurl at her face.

Immediately, her face brightened and Sasuke found the bouncy delusional girl gradually resurfacing.

"You would go on that date with me, then?" she brightly asked.

Sasuke sighed.

"Yes, whateve-"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

The blonde stormed angrily towards the pair, his blue eyes alive and blazing with fury. He had ENOUGH. An epiphany in the presence of the tattered mop and the threat of the pink haired bitch who dared waltz in to ask a date from HIS Sasuke- He growled. Oh no, no more Mr. Nice Guy... He'd had enough of taking Sakura's shit and he was going to end it today. Right now. This very SECOND.

"You stay away from him, Sakura." Naruto growled, planting himself firmly in front of the stunned Uchiha. "He's MINE."

All around him, gasps of shock and surprise erupted as the entire gym echoed with the blonde's bold statement. Sakura was staring at him, unsure of how to react.

"I'm sick of taking your shit day after day and I'm tired of living in your fucking shadow." The blonde snarled. "I'm fucking tired of you taking everything away from me and I'm tired of you ruining my life and breaking me."

"But not this time!" he finally yelled at her, his frustration and adrenalin building up inside him. "I won't stand for it anymore! You can't have Sasuke so you can go fuck yourself to hell!"

Saying so, he promptly turned around and grabbed the now silent Uchiha, dragging him out the doors of the gymnasium.

"You have crossed the line, you monster." Sakura darkly murmured, glaring hatefully at his back. "You will pay for that."

"Give me the best you've got, bitch!" Naruto yelled behind him, reaching the exit. "I'll take anything and everything you send my way so EAT MY DUST!"

With a glorious BAM, the blonde shut the door and disappeared from the scene. Immediately, Sakura's mask slipped off and her face reddened with rage.

Ooh! That... that... BLONDE!

She seethed, stifling her urge to scream in frustration. After all, there were still people around-

She paused.

There were PEOPLE around.

She glanced around and sure enough, said people were talking. And you bet your bottom dollar that by tomorrow morning, the entire school would be buzzing.

Slowly, a small smile crept up her face.

This could turn out rather well...

aaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaa

Naruto stormed away from the gymnasium, still grasping the Uchiha by the wrist. He flew over to the back of the school where no one ever went anymore. Before long, he stopped and dropped to the hilly ground in a huff, staring pointedly at the horizon where the sun was starting to set.

Sasuke remained silent as he slowly sank beside the blonde, folding his hands neatly in front of him. He looked around his surroundings and realized that this was where he first found Naruto after the Haruno date fiasco. How ironic.

He shifted his eyes to the still quiet blonde and wondered if he should attempt to speak...

"I'm sorry."

Sasuke blinked, totally not expecting the sudden apology.

"What for?"

"It's just..." The blonde ran a frustrated hand through his locks. "She makes me _so_ mad! How dare she just march in and... and... Gah!" he threw his hands up and looked as the Uchiha miserably. "I'm sorry." He finished lamely.

"Again, whatever for?" Sasuke cocked his head to the side.

"For... for telling the entire world that you were mine?" Naruto blushed.

Sasuke smirked.

"Ah, yes... You DID say that, didn't you? In front of all those people..."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke..." Naruto sighed. "I knew I was the one who said that I wanted to protect your image and I just had to screw it up..."

"The circumstance being as they were..." Sasuke calmly leaned back, shifting his weight onto his arms. "I guess I DO deserve some apology... What do you think, dobe? How are you going to make it up to me?"

Naruto looked lost.

"I... I... um..."

"Although I can't say I am _completely_ disappointed with how things turned out, there remains the fact that you called me... what was it? Ah, yes... _yours_." Sasuke tutted, wagging a finger. "Didn't I tell you dobe? Uchiha's aren't owned."

Naruto managed to look unhappy and annoyed at the same time.

"That's not fair!" The blonde hissed. "You get to brand me like some fucking toy and I don't?"

Sasuke managed to swallow his grin. "You want to?"

"Yes! I mean- NO!" The blonde looked mortified. "I mean, what the hell is it with branding and labels! It's like owning someone! Honest to god fucking ownership!"

"Is that bad?" Sasuke curiously asked.

"Hell YES its bad!" Naruto hotly retorted. "People aren't OBJECTS Sasuke!"

"I never thought of them as objects." The Uchiha calmly replied. "But I do not see anything wrong with claiming what is rightfully yours."

Naruto felt frustrated. How can you explain to some rich, snotty brat about basic humanitarian etiquette?! Weren't these things instinctive or something?

"I think you misunderstand me, dobe..." Sasuke finally consented, turning to properly face him. "What I mean by 'claiming what is rightfully mine', is that I wouldn't let others touch what has been freely given to _me_. Only ME."

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes and looked intently at the blonde.

"Would you like it if I allowed anybody, like, say Itachi, to touch you?" Sasuke touched his arm, ghosting a finger over his skin. "Just like that?"

Naruto shuddered.

"N-no..."

"Would you be happy if I didn't _care_ who looks at you or touches you in the way only I am allowed to?" Sasuke softly caressed his way up the blondes elbow, gently touching his neck and whispering up his cheeks.

The blonde let out a soft sigh, melting into the warm hand on his face.

"Would it be all right for me to let just about anyone kiss these lips..." Sasuke reverently ran a thumb over trembling lips. "That have been so freely and willingly given to me?"

The Uchiha grabbed the blonde in a hard kiss, as if punishing the blonde for ever thinking otherwise. The blonde gasped and his hands flew up the grab on Sasuke's shirt.

"I don't _think_ so." Sasuke whispered savagely on bruised lips, licking them soothingly in apology.

Naruto sighed in response.

"Do you understand?" The Uchiha cocked his head to the side.

The blonde slowly looked up to meet inquiring blacks and nodded hesitantly.

"I do..."

"Good, then." Sasuke smirked in satisfaction, leaning back.

"But what happens now, Sasuke?" The blonde demanded, cocking his head towards the Uchiha. "What happens now?"

"Nothing." Sasuke shrugged. "The whole world would know. And so? Life still goes on, dobe. Nothing changes."

"Sasuke_, everything_ changes!" the blonde cried.

"Not in my book."

"Well." Naruto crossed his arms, looking doubtfully at the Uchiha. "It's your funeral."

"Hardly." The Uchiha narrowed his eyes. "And why are you so worried about me? What about you? What makes you think you're coming out of this unscratched?"

"I've got Gaara." The blonde positively replied, grinning. "You don't."

Well tough.


End file.
